


Someone to Watch Over Me

by Iaintyourbro



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Aerith is the Queen of Cloti, Angst and Drama, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Romance, Awkwardness, Canon Related, Canonical Character Death, Cloud Strife is a Cinnamon Bun, Dorks in Love, During Canon, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Love, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Grief/Mourning, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Making Fun of Twitter Fights, My First Work in This Fandom, Post-Canon, Rating May Change, Romance, Slow Burn, True Love, kinda slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:33:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 128,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25375474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iaintyourbro/pseuds/Iaintyourbro
Summary: **Upped Rating to Prepare for the Future** Cloud and Tifa always seem to find their way back to each other, no matter what. The curious adventures of Cloud Strife and friends. This will focus mostly on Cloti's adventure through time from the time they leave Midgar until past DoC. Of course, all characters get a say. Some Aerti moments, because I adore those two. May break it up in to a series, depends on how crazy I get. I'll keep it mostly canon compliant, with diversions based on what may happen in Remake. I wanted to cover Cloti within the game timeframe to build up for the Post-Game/AC/DoC/and beyond. Since this is focusing on the relationship between Cloud and Tifa, it won't have tons of detail for every area, only major plot points.“Okay, you’re smaller than me… you go ahead and get the soap.”“It’s closer to your side.” Cloud crossed his arms and scowled a bit.“Fine… Okay… I’m going down… I’m going slow… I’m…..”BOOMBarret and Cloud froze. Barret’s large frame had bumped into the back of Cloud’s leg.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife, Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough
Comments: 267
Kudos: 241





	1. Have You Ever Seen the Rain?

**Author's Note:**

> The Party Leaves Midgar and Heads to Kalm. This will cover Remake Part 2 and beyond and post Advent Children.  
> I need to fill my desires of more Cloti fanfiction.  
> All characters are being covered and how they react to Cloud and Tifa’s antics, too!

**Chapter 1**

**Have You Ever Seen the Rain?**

Aerith really did hate the sky. She hated the rain even more. Staring up into the boundless abyss, sadness begins to fill her thoughts, but so does hope. What was that feeling she got back there? Could it have been _him_? Maybe there was still a chance he was out there, and that he was looking for her.

“Aerith?”

Aerith looked up and met vibrant carmine eyes and a warm smile. She really did adore Tifa and felt an instant connection to her.

“Sorry! Just have… never left Midgar before.” Aerith looked down a bit, nervously.

“Well it’s been a long time for me as well…” She crossed her arms over her stomach and a bit of sadness washed over her face. “Seems that the rain is going to pick up a bit, though, so we should try and find somewhere to stay dry.”

“Right!” 

At that moment, Cloud had turned to see where the two had gone off to.

“You guys okay back there?”

“Yup, we’re coming now!” Tifa said cheerfully.

Aerith found the interactions between Cloud and Tifa endearing and hilarious at the same time. She will admit, that having a SOLDIER fall into her church… for a second time… was quite the thrill. A guy who wore the same sword, same clothes, and even had some of the same quirky mannerisms that the man of her dreams once had… Why? Unfortunately, Cloud could not seem to answer that for her when she asked.

Why did she do what she did and try to keep him in Sector 5 for just one more night? She feels a bit silly about it now, but at the time, she was desperate for any news about him. Anything to confirm her feeling or give her hope that maybe he was still alive. Was she interested in Cloud?

She realized when Cloud said Tifa’s name in front of her for the first time, after having a strange episode of what seemed to be a headache, that his heart was elsewhere. He just didn’t know it, apparently. At the time, she wanted to slap him and tell him to stop being a fool, but she got an extraordinarily strong feeling that it was too early to do that. There was something not right, so she just went with his “I don’t know how to explain it” comment.

Upon returning to the Hideout, they saw the man in the black cloak – the one with a “2” tattooed on his arm. Cloud had another episode then and Aerith had grabbed his hand. He then asked her about Sephiroth. That’s the moment she was given a bit of clarity. _“This boy isn’t as he appears.”_ It was time to change the subject and move forward.

Seeing Cloud and Tifa together, though, was quite interesting. The first time she laid eyes on Tifa, she knew they were going to be best friends. She just knew it. The way Cloud looked at her, though, was something else entirely, and he didn’t even realize it. Tifa didn’t realize it, either. It was like walking around with two blind people. 

Tifa sighed nervously as she walked next to Aerith.

_“3, 2…”_

“Tifa?” Cloud turned to Tifa with a worried look on his face.

Aerith smirked to herself as subtly as she could so neither of them would notice. _“Wow, didn’t even take three seconds this time… Maybe I’ll get Barret and Red in on this so I can make a gil or two…”_

“Huh? Oh, its nothing. Hoping that we find a town before the sun goes down…” Tifa said to him.

“I think we need to find some cover soon. The clouds are lookin’ pretty bad that way.” Barret says. He’s been wiping rain off of his sunglasses as they go, throwing a few curse words out every once in a while.

“Please, I really don’t like my fur to get wet.” Red began shaking again to release some of the water from his fur.

“Well, I get Red’s problem… but… Barret, the suns not even out. You don’t need to wear your sunglasses.” Cloud said dryly.

“Heh, if I didn’t wear these, you’d get lost in my eyes, I just know it.” Barret said with a smirk and a pat on the SOLDIER’s back. Cloud somewhat scowled and smirked at him. The relationship between the two men had come a long way since the first mission they went on together.

***

They were starting to lose more and more day light and Barret’s fears of the storm looking worse in the direction they were going seemed to be coming to fruition. The rain was picking up and they could hear thunder now as well. Tifa had her arms across her chest to try and keep some of her shirt dry. Plus, it was a bit cold… and… well…

Cloud was glancing over at Tifa occasionally. It seemed like he wanted to say something but couldn’t bring himself to. Instead, he tried to focus on keeping his hair somewhat neat with the rain slightly flattening it. Of course, nothing seemed to impact the gravity defying spikes too much.

Barret had finally taken off his sunglasses with a defeated sigh. Now he was annoyed that rain was getting _in_ his eyes.

Red was miserable and the fire on his tail was barely lit. He would stop every twenty feet or so to shake his fur out.

Aerith’s bow was not as bouncy as it was a bit ago, weighed down by rain. Her bangs were losing their gravity defying capabilities it seemed.

“I think I see a town ahead.” Red said with a bit of hope in his voice.

“Yep, that’d be Kalm. Phew….” Barret said and his pace picked up a bit.

The crew made it just in time as the skies _really_ started to open and pour buckets. The Inn had one room with two beds left, so they took it.

They all entered the room, which was cozy and warm with two double sized beds. Two. Double. Sized. Beds.

“Shit, man, I don’t know…” Barret said and scratched the back of his head.

Cloud sighed heavily, “It’s fine, I can sleep against the wall there. Tifa and Aerith can have the beds.”

“Well, I think Tifa and I would fit on the same bed, then you and Barret could share one!” Aerith said cheerfully.

Tifa laughed a bit nervously but didn’t decline the offer. Cloud and Barret scowled at each other. “We’ll sleep on the floor.” They said in unison.

“In that case…” Red stretched and jumped up on the bed.

“Oh! They have a shower in here!” Tifa said excitedly.

“Yeah, maybe you can finally get that shower, huh?” Cloud said to her, and then immediately blushed at the thought that she would be showering within his proximity.

_“Why are you so nervous about that…?”_ He thought to himself.

“Y-yeah, I have really wanted one…” Tifa was also blushing.

“Well, after Tifa takes her shower, we should tell stories!” Aerith said a little too enthusiastically. Cloud groaned a bit at the thought but didn’t fight her on it.

“Don’t they have more than one bathroom here? Like a community shower or something? A gym?” Barret asked while trying to figure out a way to get the chill out of his bones.

“I think I saw some type of washrooms on the way here… Maybe you and Cloud can check them out? May be a good thing to relax a bit.” Tifa offered. “Oh, and Barret… could you leave the sleep shirts here? I put them in your third pocket on the left side.”

Cloud and Barret looked at each other and sighed.

“Yeah, yeah, here’s your sleeping shirts. Don’t know why you can’t just sleep in your normal clothes…” Barret reached in and pulled out two nightshirts.

“Well…. They’re wet…. I think we need to let them dry, right?” Tifa seemed a bit nervous or embarrassed by this suggestion.

“She’s right. Wet clothes could be trouble.” Cloud looked at Tifa and offered the slightest of smiles that only she probably could notice. “Okay, be right back…”

“Hey! Wait!” Barret barreled out of the room behind him.

Tifa let out a quiet laugh.

Aerith smirked at her, “You go on and get your shower. I’m going to try and get these clothes dry and then I’ll get one when you’re all done! Oh, and thank you for bringing a shirt for me!”

“Least I could do!”

***

Tifa finished her shower and came out of the bathroom.

“Oh, they aren’t back yet?” Tifa looked over towards the side of the room where Cloud and Barret previously were.

“Maybe they got lost?”

“Hmm…”

***

“Okay, man… don’t get any funny ideas…” Barret and Cloud were back to back, at least 3 feet apart, in a shared community shower room. They had found a laundry room near and they had their clothes in the dryer just to get the bulk of the moisture out. Unlike Tifa and Aerith, they didn’t have nightshirts to wear.

“Yeah, right.” Cloud huffed out.

“You got soap?”

“I’m using it first, I’m not using the soap second.”

“C’mon man!”

“Fine, I’ll cut the soap in half.” Cloud tried to break the soap in half and… it slipped.

Neither man moved from their position. Who was going to pick up the soap…?

“Did… did you drop the soap?” Barret quietly pushed out.

“…..”

“….Okay…… do you know where it is….?”

“Um… to my left… near… my foot….”

The soap was smack dab in the middle of both of their feet.

“Okay, you’re smaller than me… you go ahead and get the soap.”

“It’s closer to _your_ side.” Cloud crossed his arms and scowled a bit.

“Fine… Okay… I’m going down… I’m going slow… I’m…..”

_BOOM_

Barret and Cloud froze. Barret’s large frame had bumped into the back of Cloud’s leg.

“Just… get the damn soap and get up.” Cloud was so mad at this situation, imaging how much joy the girls got to have a shower on their own…. By themselves of course… Right?

“We… we’re never speaking of this.” Barret suggested.

“Speaking of what?”

“Heh, exactly.”

***

Cloud and Barret returned to the room and took spots on opposite sides of the room.

“You guys were gone for a bit.” Tifa smiled warmly at them, her hair was pulled up to keep it off her shirt while it was drying. She had a long nightshirt on with a Chocobo on it. The thigh-highs were warming near the rest of her and Aerith’s clothes…

_“Where are… shut up, stop thinking… you’re being ridiculous.”_ Cloud really wanted to shut up whatever this inner voice was at times. He just hadn’t seen Tifa without her thigh-highs on since he arrived in Midgar… and… he was having strange thoughts about this. He’d also never seen her with her hair up.

“Cloud?” Tifa asked with a bit of humor in her voice. Cloud realized he was staring at Tifa and averted his gaze. He spotted Aerith smirking in probably one of the most evil ways he’s ever seen on a human and Barret had a somewhat amused, but somewhat horrifying, I-just-cleaned-my-shotgun-bring-her-home-by-nine look as well.

“Sorry, just tired… long day…” Cloud said and shook his head a bit.

“So, stories!” Aerith said and looked at Tifa. “How long have you and Cloud known each other?”

“Uh! Well, since we were…” Tifa started.

“Five.” Cloud felt a bit strange about this quick response. _“Are you sure?”_

Tifa’s eyes widened a bit. That sounded right… She remembered meeting Cloud shortly after his father would have passed away… Nibelheim was a small village, so they always did a celebration of life whenever one of the community members died. She had officially met Cloud then, even though he had always lived next to her.

“Yes, so I would have been four…” Tifa said hesitantly.

“Aww, the childhood friends reunite! How cuuuute!” Aerith said and clasped her hands together. Cloud and Tifa blushed furiously at this.

_“Why am I being like this…?”_ Tifa thought to herself. Cloud was having similar thoughts.

Barret at this point had started to doze off in a corner. Red was politely listening to the conversation. Tifa was still standing, as was Cloud. Aerith was holding a pillow.

“I’m hoping our clothes are dry by morning…” Tifa said nervously.

“Oh, it’ll be fine. So, tell me more about growing up in Nibelheim!” Aerith tried to take back the last part of that sentence, but was relieved that none of them noticed…

“It was a small town… um… it burned down five years ago….” Tifa said and shifted a bit uncomfortably, remembering Cloud mentioning he had seen her five years ago… but…

“Oh…” Aerith said sadly, “I see… Right…”

“I remember seeing Tifa there… five years ago. She was our tour guide up the mountain… Sephiroth was there and so were two other Shinra Infantrymen. Well, there were three but… One was killed. Sephiroth was so powerful…” Cloud started to trail off a bit. Barret and Red perked up a bit at the mention of Sephiroth, “I really looked up to him. He was a great war hero. Made a lot of us want to join SOLDIER when we were all kids…”

“You looked up to him?” Barret cocked an eyebrow.

“Pretty much every kid did…” Cloud looked down a bit away from Barret, “He was seen as a role model for a lot of us back then.”

Tifa stood as still as a statue and her face was blank. Aerith picked up immediately on this.

“Sephiroth had found out something at the Shinra library…. And……” Cloud made an odd noise and started to put his hand up to his head.

“Cloud, it’s okay… we don’t have to talk about it…” Tifa started.

“No, it’s fine…” Cloud shook his head slightly, “Sephiroth went into a rage… he… set the village on fire and started cutting down any townsperson he could find… My mom she…. She was one of them. She… asked him to save me….” Cloud trailed off again. “I had to get to the reactor. I remembered seeing Tifa run up there when she realized her father wasn’t in town…”

Tifa was holding her breath at this point… this is what she remembered… but…. Not… No, it was… Was it?

“When I got there, I saw Tifa pick up Sephiroth’s sword… her father was laying there… Sephiroth had already killed him… Then I heard a scream and ran in… Tifa was at the bottom of the stairs…. And then… I don’t remember…. Something did happen….. but…..” Cloud trailed off again. Tifa was shifting a bit nervously but took a deep breath.

“Cloud…. How bad was I?” Tifa broke her silence, and for the first time since he started talking, she looked directly at him. Cloud stared back at her and there was a shift in his eyes. He looked away.

“I thought you were going to die… I was really sad…” His voice cracked slightly over this statement. _“I thought you had died…”_ That voice was back.

“So… you both have a history with Sephiroth…” Aerith said.

“Yeah… I thought he was dead, though…” Tifa said.

“He’s supposed to be… that’s what the official reports say, but…” Cloud stopped again.

“Let’s try and get some sleep, yeah?” Tifa forced a bit of cheer in her voice at this moment, hoping not to alert anyone to her ever growing fear of what she just heard.

“So, this son of a bitch killed your whole family and burned your village down.” Barret scratched his chin and hummed something to himself. “Yeah, we gotta get his ass. Gotta avenge your village and your family.”

Aerith, Tifa, and Cloud all nodded at Barret in agreement.

Aerith looked over at Tifa and grew concerned over her friend’s reaction to this story…

***

There was not going to be any sleep tonight. Tifa was completely overwhelmed and shocked at what Cloud had just told them. The storm had passed hours ago and the skies were clear. She carefully got up, so she didn’t disturb a knocked out Aerith, grabbed an extra blanket, and tried to sneak past Cloud to the door.

He heard her.

Of course he heard her. She was really hoping he wouldn’t.

“Tifa?” He said so softly she barely heard it.

“Hey. Um. I just… wanted to go see if I could see the stars here… you know, since we’re not in the city anymore…”

“Oh…”

“Do you want to come?”

Cloud nodded and got up slowly. He picked up his sword.

“I don’t think you’ll need that…. We’re in a walled in town…”

“Right… probably not…” he said and placed it back against the wall.

The skies were clear, and you could make out stars. Nothing like the stars in Nibelheim, but there were stars. There was also a water tower.

“Hah, do you want to go sit up on the water tower? You know… like long ago?” Tifa asked him.

“Sure.”

They carefully climbed up. This was kind of like Nibelheim. A small town with a water tower and a close-knit community.

“Um, are you cold, Cloud? I brought a blanket…”

Cloud swallowed hard. Sharing a blanket with Tifa? “It’s not too cold out here…”

Tifa laughed a bit and threw half of the blank over his shoulders and the other half over her own. Cloud felt a warm feeling rise in his chest.

“Seems like there’s still some light pollution from Midgar here…” Cloud looked up towards the sky.

“Yeah, but at least we can _see_ them. Not a star to be seen in Midgar…”

“True.”

“Not really like our water tower, huh?” Tifa brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

“I don’t think anything will ever replace our water tower…”

She called it _their_ water tower… Cloud’s heart was starting to beat faster at what this meant. Why was he so confused? Why couldn’t he explain what Tifa was to him? _What are these feelings?_

They sat in silence for a while. There was a bit of distance between them. This time, though, they were sitting on the same side of the water tower, at least, unlike the last time they sat on _their_ water tower.

“Are you okay, Tifa?” Cloud’s softly asked her and glanced over at her.

“Y-yeah, why?”

“You seemed to get quiet after we talked in there… and I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Y-yeah, it’s just… just a hard thing to talk about, you know? I feel like I sometimes only remember the bad… and forget about all the good things that happened… The happier memories…”

“Yeah…”

Cloud leaned back a bit to reposition himself and accidentally brushed Tifa’s fingers. She didn’t have her gloves on. He didn’t have his gloves on. It felt electrifying to him. He learned recently he had a thing for his hands being touched.

“S-sorry…!”

“It’s okay.” She was so calm. Cloud looked at her a bit surprised.

“What? I thought it was kind of cute.” She giggled.

_“In your dreams, pal… You’ll never be good enough for her.”_ Cloud shook the thought. “Um.. I… what do you mean?”

Tifa smiled slightly at him and returned her gaze to the sky. He stared at her with a slightly opened mouth… She really was beautiful. The light of the moon and the stars just brought out the creaminess of her skin, the shine in her hair, and the depth in her eyes.

_“Just like back then… Right?”_

***

“So where are we going next?” Aerith asked.

“Uh… well, if we need to get to the other continent… we need to get to Junon and take the cargo ship.” Cloud explained.

“Alright! To Junon!” Aerith started marching forward and then stopped. “How do we get to Junon?”

“Need to go through the cave system over that way. Should be a Chocobo Ranch nearby, too.” Barret said. “I remember the route from Corel to Midgar, so… just thinking about it in the other direction.”

“TO THE CHOCOBOS WE GO!” Aerith said and ran off.

***

“Do we really _need_ a Chocobo to get through to the cave?” Cloud stopped and looked at a map they’d picked up in Kalm.

“I hear there’s a really big… uh… snake that guards it. Gotta… gotta take the Chocobo.” Barret seemed extremely nervous.

“Got a problem with snakes?” Cloud smirked a bit towards him.

“Shit man this thing is like fifty feet long. Maybe more.”

“Hmm, can’t we just stop at the ranch? Might be fun!” Aerith looked over at Tifa. Cloud sighed.

“…I kind of wanted to see the Chocobo Ranch…” Tifa shuffled, feeling somewhat childish.

“Fine. We’re going to the Chocobo Ranch, it’ll be safer and faster that way.” Cloud began to walk towards their destination.

“Of course… she says it….” Barret tried to be quiet. Aerith had to bite down hard not to start laughing.

“What was that?” Cloud turned and presented Barret with two bright blue daggers.

“I didn’t say nothin’.” Barret walked past him.

Red just didn’t understand how these humans handled this type of situation, this all seemed so ridiculous, but he handed 3 Gil over to Aerith anyway, once Cloud and Tifa had faced away from him.

***

After talking to Choco Bill and his con-artist grandson, Choco Billy, the team was equipped with a 2,000 Gil Materia to lure Chocobos, greens to make the Chocobos happy, and so far, had captured three mostly tame Chocobos. They’d spent close to 4,000 Gil on Chocobo materials.

“Okay, we need one more Chocobo for Barret. Red can ride with me.” Cloud started to try and find more Chocobo tracks.

“Oh, you didn’t want _Tifa_ to ride with you?” Barret scoffed. Tifa and Cloud’s eyes grew wide and their faces red.

“I cannot ride my own Chocobo.” Red offered to save Barret from being murdered, but a small part of him wanted to see what Tifa could do in moments of pure embarrassment.

_Kweh._

“Oh, I hear one!” Tifa was awfully glad that something distracted the tension that was brewing between Cloud and Barret, yet again.

A Chocobo came waltzing around and stopped. The lure was working. Choco Billy had told them it is pretty much Chocobo pheromones. It approached them cautiously and Cloud threw out a Gyshal Green. He quietly approached it and was able to successfully catch it.

“Cloud, you’re really good at dealing with Chocobos, you know!” Aerith was thrilled over this.

“Uh, thanks…” Slight blush starting.

“Maybe it’s your hair?” Tifa smirked playfully at him. He started to smile and blush and looked down.

“Oh! Was that a smile?!” Aerith ran up to him and tried to see his face. She was met with a scowl as he backed away. Typical Cloud.

“Let’s get moving.” He glanced at Tifa and offered one of his secret smiles.

Barret attempted to get on his Chocobo, but it bucked and threw him back. “Shit!”

“Guess it doesn’t like you.” Cloud smirked, “Maybe got too much weight on it.”

“I’ll give you too much weight! What are you, like 120?”

“21.”

“What?”

“I’m 21.”

“Shit man, I’m not asking you for your goddamn age, I’m asking about your weight.”

“I know, I was just catching up from your first question to me.” Cloud began to guide the Chocobo forward with Red sitting near the back.

“Man, one of these days…” Barret heaved himself up and the Chocobo gave up on fighting it, and slowly started it’s trot forward.

***

All members of the team were out of breath, but relieved.

“That….. was…. a really….. big…. f…. Snake….” Barret was heaving. The four Chocobos didn’t seem to care. It seemed that out running the Midgar Zolom was just another day on the job for them.

“I really wasn’t sure if Barret’s Chocobo was going to make it.” Red offered, the only one that didn’t seem to be completely exhausted from the Chocobo run.

“Man, shut up.” Barret threw his hand up.

“Guys…” Tifa was frozen in place and looking up.

An exceptionally large Midgar Zolom was impaled on a spear that went up at least thirty feet into the air.

“Sephiroth…” Cloud slowly approached it, taking his sword in hand.

“At least it’s dead, right?” Aerith looked at everyone for confirmation.

“Yeah… I think we’re okay.” Cloud put his sword back on his back. “Let’s go.”

***

The caves to the other side were straight forward. There were some Materia deposits around, but nothing usable. After about ten minutes of walking through, fighting a few annoying monsters, and collecting some much-needed materials, they felt they were close to the exit.

“Hey!”

Cloud froze and looked around. It was a woman’s voice?

“Well look-y here… First Class Asshole and his posse.”

“Reno…” Cloud narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“Psh, like I’m going to tell _you_ that.” Reno didn’t have his weapon out, but still was covered in bandages and bruises. “I see you’re still doing your _bodyguard_ work. Did you pick up another woman on your way here?”

“Oh, shut up, Reno. Now I have all these bodyguards!” Aerith walked over and linked her arm with Tifa’s. “So, I won’t be needing _you_ anymore and your _secret_ orders.”

“Sir! Should we take them out?”

“Elena, what are you doing up there?” Reno looked up.

“I was scouting the area to make sure there were no intruders!” Elena must be new, she seems so… professional compared to Reno and Rude. Or she was trained by Tseng.

“Hello, Aerith.”

“Tseng?!” Aerith froze.

“I see you all made it out of Sector 7 in time…” Tseng glanced over at Tifa, Cloud, and Barret. Cloud had his sword up and Tifa was ready to go. “Sorry, I don’t have time to entertain you. We have other matters to attend to.”

“Yes, we need to get to Junon right away! Sephiroth may be headed to the other continent!” Elena was standing at attention and looking at Tseng.”

“Elena, you talk too much…”

“Sir?”

“Please, we do not want to give away our position. We are going now.” Tseng looked over to Aerith, “Good to see you again, Aerith.”

“Oh, the pleasure is _all_ mine.” Aerith had a devilish smirk on her face as she looked at him.

Reno smacked Rude’s back to snap him out of his trance.

_“Was he staring at Tifa?”_ Cloud thought to himself and made a mental note to fight him extra hard next time…

***

The trek to Junon was going to be just a bit longer. They made a pit stop in Fort Condor, a reactor town that had a huge Condor nest on top of it. The old man there gave his story and asked for their assistance. Cloud had built up quite a stash of funds from his mercenary work around Midgar. He felt like it was dwindling away every time they stopped somewhere… but couldn’t say no to the ruby eyes that shone up at him asking if he’d help them. He handed over 10,000 Gil and wanted to whimper as it saw it go into a safety deposit box. Aerith, Barret, and Red were discussing something serious around this time, it seemed.

Leaving the town presented them with a forest that would need to be crossed before they made it to Junon. The sun was setting on the horizon, and they wondered if it would be safer to stop in the forest to camp before making the rest of the journey across the plains. They’d have more cover in the forest and not be open targets in the middle of an empty field.

“So, we got some Tents while in town and snacks. We should be okay for tonight, right?” Aerith looked around.

“I think so. Maybe I can cook something?” Tifa inquired.

“Oh man, that’d be great, Tifa. Haven’t had one of your homemade dishes in a while.” Barret patted her shoulder gently, “Tifa’s one of the best cooks in Midgar. People would come from all over just to sample some of her cooking.”

“Oh, I think you’re over exaggerating, Barret.” Tifa was blushing furiously, “I have a few tricks I can try with the resources we have, but no promises!”

“Aww, I can’t wait, Tifa! I’m excited!” Aerith was beaming at her, “Do you want any help? I’m not much of a cook, but maybe you can teach me!”

“Of course!” Tifa seemed excited to have an apprentice.

“Yeah, it’s really a shame. Marlene is still at that age where she’s a bit picky with food. Usually just wants some of those frozen lasagnas.” Barret scratched the back of his head.

Tifa sighed a bit, “Yes, but she’ll eventually grow out of it. I do _try_ to get her to eat healthier things sometimes!”

_“Ahh, Tifa’s cooking. Remember she used to bake things… back then…?”_ What is this voice? Why is it appearing more and more…? Cloud shook his head slightly. Tifa and Aerith had already started preparing the meal.

“Yo, help me set up this tent. Red doesn’t have hands.” Barret beckoned to Cloud.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I would help, but I fear my claws may tear the material, and that wouldn’t be good.” Red offered, “Perhaps I can collect wood or other materials to start a fire for the chef?”

“Yeah, that’ll be good!” Aerith was cutting up some type of green, maybe the left over Gyshal Greens – they had to be resourceful!

***

After fighting over the two tents, a lot of curse words, Tifa yelling at Cloud to put his sword down, and Barret throwing one of the tents about ten feet away, then getting yelled at to retrieve it…. There were two tents set up – one severely bent – and a meal ready – a very delicious meal.

A small fire was burning. It was a nice night for all of this. The air was crisp, but not too cold, and the skies were clear. Everyone seemed… content. How long would this last? It seemed… temporary. It seemed too good considering what they were going after. Cloud was frowning at the thought of losing this. A sharp feeling that this _wouldn’t_ last.

Tifa and Aerith decided to go stargazing together tonight. Cloud felt a bit jealous, since that was _their_ thing, but he really was getting confused on where some of these odd feelings of jealousy were coming from.

_First there was the Item Store owner in Sector 7. Calling her “baby” like she was some… Cloud was getting angry thinking about it. Then he was apparently giving her free stuff. It’s cute, though… she thought he was giving her free stuff because she was a good customer… Not because… Well, he did seem to back off once Cloud got rid of those Doomrats for him, though he felt great joy at the fact that they messed up some of his stock._

_Then there was the guy who was trying to move in next to her all upset because somebody moved into the apartment instead. Cloud smirked to himself realizing it was him that was the lucky son of a bitch that got to move in. The random guys talking about her around Sector 7 made him want to pull his sword out at times._

_Oh, and that Johnny guy. The one that wouldn’t stop calling him “Bro” all the time. Tifa didn’t seem interested, though, so that’s good._

_And that son of a bitch Al and his flowers. She took_ Cloud’s _flower, though._

_I mean, it did make sense… She was in great shape. Chocobo Sam knew who he was talking about the moment he described her… as best he could while being respectful. Cloud didn’t appreciate the fact that Sam talked about Tifa being a bombshell, though. These reactions were so sudden, though, like deep down he couldn’t take the fact that another guy could be paying attention to her. Did he have feelings for her?_

_“It doesn’t matter… It’s not like you’ve done enough to…”_

Barret’s snoring was growing louder. The man had fallen asleep on Red, who, shockingly, didn’t seem to mind, after being full from a very delicious meal. Cloud wondered if he should wake them up to get them to move into the expensive, bent tents that they spent way too much time setting up but decided against it. Maybe sleeping by the fire wouldn’t be so bad.

***

Tifa and Aerith were sitting on a blanket just outside of the forest. Both were equipped with Materia and their weapons just in case something decided to bother them. It wasn’t worth the risk to go unarmed. Plus, Cloud’s pacing and overall worry about the two of them wouldn’t have gotten any better _unless_ they went fully equipped.

Tifa was laughing to herself about how worried he was, _“Do you have Revive equipped? Aerith, you should have Fire equipped just in case. A lot of the enemies around there are weak against Fire. How about-“_

_“Cloud, we’ll be fiinneee.” Aerith sang out to him and grabbed Tifa to continue to their journey._

“Cloud was acting like a mom earlier.” Aerith huffed out. Was she reading Tifa’s thoughts?

“Yes, I thought it was pretty cute how concerned he was… I mean, I _can_ take care of myself!”

“Well, YEAH, but let him deal with it sometimes. And he’s cuuuuteee huh?”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Tifa began blushing, “I just… he sometimes acts so hard but then does things that show he’s really a nice guy under that hard exterior…”

“Mmm. Yeah, he is just a big softie.” Aerith didn’t look up at the sky much, “You know… the night sky… I’m not sure if it’s scarier or not than the day sky.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… it’s endless. No matter the direction I look, there doesn’t seem to be an end to them… but….”

“Aerith?”

“It’s nothing. I… Were you okay after we talked about Nibelheim earlier? It seemed like you got very quiet and… well, I just want to make sure you’re okay.” Aerith looked over to Tifa, who was still looking up at the sky.

“I…” Tifa looked down and away from Aerith, “Aerith…. Cloud…. I don’t really remember Cloud being in Nibelheim five years ago…. But I was so injured… maybe I’m not remembering right? But of course I’d remember Cloud… wouldn’t I?”

“What do _you_ remember?” Aerith became solemn, similar to how she was at the end of the Midgar Expressway.

“I… remember another guy being there. He had black hair…”

Aerith gasped, “…Do you remember his name?” There was so much hope in her voice at this moment.

“I think it was….”

At that moment, they heard noises behind them.

Cloud.

“Are you guys okay out here?”

“Yes, Cloud. Everything is fine.” Tifa sighed a bit. She didn’t _mean_ to sound annoyed, but she _could_ take care of herself.

“We were actually just about to head back, right, Tifa?”

“Yes…”

“Okay. I just want to make sure we all get enough sleep. We’re heading for Junon early tomorrow.” Cloud looked at both girls.

The girls got up and back to the camp site. Aerith knew she needed to wait to bring this up again. She had a feeling there was a reason Tifa didn’t want to say anything in front of Cloud…

***

The next morning, after cleaning up their campsite and fighting about the fact that they _couldn’t_ reuse these types of tents, no matter how bad Cloud wanted to, they were on their way to Junon… and were stopped.

“So, what do you want? Why are you fighting us?” Cloud had his hand on his forehead, annoyed at the disturbance.

“Fight me! I’ll take you guys out!” The girl in front of them couldn’t have been more that 15 or 16 years old and had a Shuriken equipped. “I know you guys are afraid of me!”

“Terrified.” Cloud replied dryly.

“Hah! I knew it. You can’t defeat me, so you surrender?!”

“Guess so.” Tifa replied. She seemed hesitant to trust this girl. Something didn’t sit right in her stomach, but she was also concerned that a girl so young was walking around the forest alone. Was she alone?

“Well, we’re going.” Cloud began to walk off and the team followed.

“HEY WAIT!”

All of them ignored her.

“You could _at least_ ask me for my name!”

Cloud stopped and sighed, “Go on.”

“It’s Yuffie, and don’t any of you forget it! You’re not gonna regret having _me_ join. I’m one of the best out there, I’m sure you guys have been struggling up until this point.”

“Oh yes, can’t even kill one frog.” Cloud had turned at this point and was walking away.

Yuffie swallowed hard, “Frogs?! HEY WAIT!”

***

“Man, why do we need to walk so much? This is crazy, aren’t there vehicles or something?” Barret was slowing his walk. They _had_ been walking a lot.

“You want to go find some stairs?” Cloud couldn’t help himself on this one...

“Yeah, I’ll throw you down some damn stairs next time we see some…”

“Yeah, if you can catch me…”

“Barret! Cloud! That’s enough of that! We’re almost there.” Tifa turned, hands on her hips, and then brought a scolding finger up. Cloud pouted.

“He said-!”

She gave him a look and he sighed and stopped whatever was going to come out of his mouth next. He heard snickering nearby. The new girl. Laughing at them.

She then proceeded to make a crack-the-whip sound. Barret started laughing, and even Red let out a small huff to show his amusement.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cloud looked at them with narrowed eyes and his Death Stare.

“You don’t know what _whipped_ means?” Yuffie looked at his wide-eyed and her jaw dropped, “What rock did you grow up under?”

Cloud frowned a bit, “Whatever. I don’t care anymore.”

Aerith pulled Yuffie to the side and they started laughing a bit. Red and Barret handed her something.

They were finally at Junon.


	2. The Great Pretender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This covers Junon and the cargo ship. It ended up being much longer than I expected, but I hope you enjoy it. I'm having a really good time writing Aerith's character in this. Queen Cloti. 
> 
> “You….. didn’t!”  
> Aerith bit her lip and looked away from Yuffie, “I may have…”  
> “Oh, you…. ….cheater!”  
> “I still didn’t win!”  
> “Now…. I’m out 50 Gil… and have lost every…thing… that’s…. ever….. existed… in my…. Stomach….. I ha….” Yuffie gave up speaking at this point.  
> Red walked by and just so happened to flash 50 Gil at Yuffie.  
> “He looks… stupid…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy some serious scenes, angsty scenes, romantic scenes, and funny scenes in this one!

Junon was a small town that had clearly been taken over by Shinra at some point. It almost looked like the slums of Midgar, since the main city was sitting above the small town that they entered. As they walked in, many residents looked at them and immediately went into their homes. Did they think they were there to cause harm? Maybe they thought they worked for Shinra.

“Well hello to you too!” Yuffie stuck her tongue out.

“I really don’t think that’s going to help…” Cloud sighed and put his head in his hand. Why is she here again?

Cloud was wondering to himself if they thought _he_ worked for Shinra. He had the eyes, the uniform, and the look. Maybe they thought Shinra had sent some SOLDIERs in to assess things? It bothered him that people immediately associated him with Shinra. All they did was look at his eyes and they’d know what he was.

“So where to?” Tifa stopped to look around the small, severely polluted town.

“If what we’re hearing is true, then we should be able to get on a cargo ship from here, but I think the main port is on the other side of the upper city. It’s really the only way to get to the other continent without getting caught…” Cloud began to wonder how they were going to get up there. There was a guard at the main elevator – or what seemed to be the main elevator – and not much else. Some houses, some shops, and a few food stands that looked like he’d need to take way too many trips behind a tree if he ate at them.

The horizon could still be seen but seemed to have a haze of smog over it. It was mid-morning, but it almost looked like early evening. The sun’s rays were being muted by the thick smog.

“Damn Shinra… messing up these towns.” Barret was also cursing under his breath, “They waltz in and promise you the world, but then trash your town and don’t do a damn thing about it!”

Aerith walked up and gently put her hand on Barret’s arm. This seemed personal for him.

“Are you okay, Barret?” Tifa frowned.

“Yeah, yeah… just… hate seeing what these people are going through. They really get no choice in the end.”

Cloud was thinking about what Barret was saying. It was a familiar feeling. He doesn’t remember when the Nibel Reactor was built, but he does know recall hearing that people started getting sick more often after it was put in. There were also a lot more monster attacks, for some reason.

A man was standing near a small fishing shack was staring out at the horizon. He seemed to look approachable, so Cloud figured he’d take a shot.

“We need to get up to the upper city.” He began.

“Hello, sonny! No can do, you need a pass to get up there right now. Rufus is in town, so the security is extra tight. They’re not gonna just let anybody who says they want to go, just waltz up there.”

 _“Rufus? What the hell is he doing here?”_ Cloud sighed, “Well, thanks…”

“Now what?” Aerith dropped her head a bit. She did seem to give up at first whenever they ran in to a roadblock but would generally quickly move on from it.

“Dunno… let’s see what’s down here…” Cloud began walking forward. A young girl was talking to something in the water and blowing a whistle. Must be some game.

“Mr. Dolphin! Come back!” The girl jumped up and down as a dolphin swam closer to the shore of where the girl was standing.

“Aww, that’s cute!” Tifa smiled warmly.

They walked closer to the shore and the little girl smiled at them. She seemed friendly. They watched as she would call the dolphin to her, and then throw rings for him to retrieve.

“I wonder how she trained a dolphin…?” Red was fascinated by this.

The team looked on. Cloud was looking up to see if there were any areas they could climb. He noticed there were quite a few electrical warnings around where they were standing, so he wanted to be cautious.

“Oh no! Mr. Dolphin, move!” The girl was frantic. A large monster was coming up towards where they were all standing. The girl panicked and thought Mr. Dolphin was going to get hit by the monster, so she started running out towards him. She was slammed down into the water by the monster and knocked unconscious.

“No!” Aerith screamed.

Tifa was already running towards the girl.

“Tifa! Wait!” Cloud was very concerned about the electrical currents running through the water. What if the girl had been electrocuted? What if Tifa gets too close to the water or the monster?

“Cloud! We have to get her out of the water or she’ll drown!” Tifa didn’t stop her pursuit. She dodged a swing from the beast and threw a Chi Trap down to try and slow it down. The girl was under water and not moving. Tifa lifted her up and carried her closer to the town.

“We’ve gotta stop that thing! It’s going to go into the town!” Yuffie was already getting ready to start throwing towards the beast.

The older man from earlier came rushing down and saw Tifa pulling the girl to safety. He leaned down and checked her, “Young lady, you need to start CPR on her now! She’s not breathing!” Tifa looked up nervously at him. She was certified in CPR but has never had to use it in a real scenario, especially not on a child. She knew she had no choice.

“Cloud, you guys need to hold that off. I have to give this girl CPR! She’s going to die if we don’t do something now!” Tifa seemed to become more frantic as the child continued to lay lifeless in front of her. She immediately began chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth.

“I got this!” Barret begins shooting at the thing. Cloud realizes he can’t get up to it. The electricity running through the water could be dangerous if he jumps and lands in the wrong spot. Magic it is.

Aerith and Red had already started the process of casting spells. This thing was tough, he’d throw waves of water at them to knock them back. A few times he’d hurl something over towards Tifa and the little girl, but Cloud was able to block it. Aerith put up a Lustrous Shield over Tifa, hoping to keep as much away from her and the girl as possible.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the monster fell lifeless into the water. Mr. Dolphin was also safe. Cloud turned his attention immediately back to Tifa. The girl still was not breathing.

“1…2…3…..” She gives a breath.

“1….2……3….” She’s getting tired and is also starting to get visibly upset. Aerith is trying to figure out if any of the Materia they have can help, but she knows that nothing can reverse a true drowning case.

“Tifa…” Cloud could see the panic and pain on Tifa’s face as she’d pump the girl’s chest, give her breaths, and start the process again. The older gentleman was solemn looking.

“No, no, no, no…. please….. please wake up…..” Tifa exhaled and continued.

Barret and Red turned away. This became painful to watch… the girl probably wasn’t going to make it…. Yuffie walked away back to town without a word.

Cloud began to slowly approach Tifa and kneeled down near her and the girl to see if he could help. The way she said, “No” reminded him of the top of the Sector 7 pillar, with no time to spare to come to terms with what was happening.

Suddenly, a cough. Another cough. Tifa helped the girl sit up to make it easier for her to clear her mouth and lungs of the salty ocean water. The girl looked right at Cloud and stared at him. The older gentleman sighed in relief, “Thank goodness you were here… I don’t even want to think about something happening to Priscilla here! Please, please let us know anything you need!” The man picked the young girl up and carried her back towards the town.

“Tifa, that was amazing!” Aerith walked over and took her hands in her own. Tifa was visibly shaken, but also looked victorious. She gave Aerith a warm smile and then a hug. A scary moment, for sure. Cloud was, once again, amazed at all the things his childhood friend could do… She really was incredible. He just wished he knew when it was the right time to hug someone like everybody else seemed to know…

***

It was back to figuring out how to get up to the main city. As the team walked towards the inn, an older woman stopped them and told them to please come into her home. Suddenly, all the townspeople were out looking at the team with a look of awe on their faces. Cloud looked over at Tifa who was looking down, deep in thought.

“Hey, Tifa, you did good, girl.” Barret patted her shoulder, “Look how happy all these people are. You saved one of their own.” Tifa sadly smiled at Barret and looked back down.

“Tifa…” Cloud said softly.

They approached the house that the woman invited them to. Red handed Aerith 3 Gil.

The home was cozy and warm. There were three good sized beds and stew cooking over a fire. The woman was smiling warmly at them.

“Thank you so much for what you did for Priscilla. She’s such a precious, loving child. I’m sure when she wakes up tomorrow she’ll be so thankful for what you’ve done for her.” The woman walked up to Tifa and took her hands and gave her a smile full of adoration and appreciation.

“I’m so glad she’s going to be okay.” Tifa closed her eyes and squeezed the woman’s hands a bit.

“You all must be very tired after that. Please, make yourselves at home. Eat, eat, eat! You need to get your energy back, and then sleep here as long as you need to. My home is now your home.” She smiled and left the house.

“Cool, free food AND free beds!” Yuffie plopped down on the middle bed, “Of course _I’m_ getting a bed.”

“Yes, Yuffie. You, Tifa, and Aerith will get a bed. Barret, Red and I will sleep on the floor.” Cloud turned from her and rolled his eyes. She’s quite the brat.

“Hey, Cloud. I’m gettin’ kinda sick of sleeping on floors. When are we gonna find a way to sleep in a bed? I don’t know how much my back can take. Still messed up from those damn stairs.” Barret shot Yuffie a dirty look. She stuck her tongue out at him and mumbled something about old people.

Cloud sighed, “Well, I wish I had an answer for you. Maybe there’s a patch of grass outside or something.” Barret opened his mouth to go back at him, but was interrupted by Aerith, having a brilliant idea.

“I know!” Aerith piped up, “These beds are a little bigger than what we had before, so why don’t Yuffie and I take a bed, Barret and Red take a bed, and you and Tifa!”

Cloud’s eyes probably could not have gone wider, “U-u-u-h what?!”

“Why not? You guys are childhood friends. It’ll be like a sleepover or camping!” Aerith was evil. She really was, deep down, an evil, conniving genius.

Tifa’s face was almost as red as her eyes, but she didn’t really feel like there was a rational argument against it, “I… guess that would work.”

“Great! Now we all will get a bed!” Aerith was beaming at this. Yuffie shot her a dirty look and started digging in her pockets.

Cloud’s stomach had just won a gold medal at the Olympics with the amount of flips it did.

***

After eating a delicious Junon style stew, fighting over which episode of Stamp was best from their childhood, and asking Red if he’d ever accidentally set something on fire, Barret and Red had passed out on one of the beds and Aerith and Yuffie were considerably close on the other. Seemed Aerith really didn’t have a hard time making friends - no matter how big of a brat they were.

Tifa and Cloud sat in silence for a bit staring at the fire. Tifa was incredibly exhausted from the day’s events but was still worried about Cloud. Something just wasn’t right. She knows that she had severe injuries after the Nibelheim incident, but would they have been so severe that she’d forget seeing Cloud? Cloud was different from every other boy in Nibelheim. He had sapphire eyes and the same spiky, blonde hair he has now, minus some length. She did miss those dark blue sapphire eyes. The mako took a lot of the depth out of them, but there was something else about the mako eyes… They were beautiful, sure, but not… natural. She’s sure she would have remembered seeing a spiky blonde SOLDIER…

“I can sleep on the floor tonight.” Cloud interrupted Tifa from her thoughts, “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable…”

“I don’t. You can’t keep sleeping on the floor,” Tifa looked over at him, “I can sleep on the floor if you don’t feel comfortable, but… I… I do trust you. I know it’s nothing like _that._ ”

Cloud cleared his throat, “I-I don’t mind.”

They both sat in silence more. Tifa finally stood up and stretched her arms over her head, “I’m going to try and sleep. You should think about doing the same.”

 _“I love it when she does that…”_ Cloud mentally slapped himself. This was _not_ the time to be thinking about anything and how Tifa stretched her arms in any direction. He needed to be perfectly still in his sleep tonight. Perfectly still.

Tifa approached the bed and took a deep breath. She pulled the covers out and slid in. Cloud stood there and had no idea what to do. Tifa gave him a look, but didn’t want to say anything too loud, fearing she’d wake the others. She patted the other side of the bed. Cloud swallowed a bit hard and slowly walked over. Tifa had taken her boots off, so Cloud figured he should do the same.

He sat on the edge of the bed and froze. Tifa sighed quietly and pulled the blanket out a bit on his side, signaling to him that this was fine. He got up and under the blankets. Something he hadn’t done in a while… usually he felt like he had to be on top of them, just in case he needed to get up right away, but he felt safe with everyone around him… well, more safe than he normally did. Cloud laid on his back and stared at the ceiling scared out of his mind to look to his right, where Tifa was shifting around a bit.

Barret snored. He definitely snored worse when he would roll to his back, so it was a relief when he’d roll to his side for a bit. Red would kick a leg out and hit Barret’s ankle. That seemed to help coax him to move. Yuffie and Aerith were sleeping peacefully. It was comical to see these two – it was like two teenage girls who had just watched movies and talked about boys all night.

Cloud couldn’t help but worry about that feeling that this happiness would go away. The feeling of togetherness. He just wished he knew why…

Tifa was sleeping now. Breathing softly next to him with her back to him. He couldn’t help but look at her, sleeping peacefully as if nothing had happened… when so much had. He felt his chest fill with a warmth that he just couldn’t describe. Maybe the stew gave him indigestion, he mused.

Tifa suddenly rolled over. Her hand landed right on his upper abdomen.

His brain misfires, _“!!!!..Oh…. what… do…. I do….!!!!”_

Cloud’s heart is racing. Does he move? Does he go to the floor? Move her arm? Is this a test? He’s hugged her, right? Even though he screwed that up, maybe if he doesn’t move, he won’t screw this up. She’s sleeping, she doesn’t know what she’s doing. His heart is pounding now, what if it wakes her up? Tifa let out a sigh that suspiciously sounded like she was content. Cloud looked down at her. She was still breathing steady and very asleep. He took a careful breath and tried to calm down.

Something about her hand there was comforting. His eyelids became heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

***

_“Hey, buddy.”_

“You again?”

“Who are you?”

_“You’ll find out soon enough… Listen… five years ago… when you went home to Nibelheim…”_

“Yeah, what about it?”

_“Tifa was there, right?”_

“Yeah, she was our tour guide up to the reactor….”

_“Would have been a great time to catch up, don’t you think? You hadn’t seen her in two years… Seemed like you missed her…”_

“I did… but…”

_“So why didn’t you catch up? Did you get any time alone with her?”_

“I don’t remember… why didn’t I get to talk to Tifa…?”

_“Maybe you should try asking Tifa…”_

“I guess…”

***

Barret sipped his coffee and stood with Red, Aerith, and Yuffie as they stared over the bed that Cloud and Tifa were in.

“So, should we wake them up or…?” Yuffie looked over at the rest of the crew.

“Nah, they’re tired. Let them sleep _just_ a bit longer. It’s cute anyway… They’ll be so freaked out when they wake up and realize what’s going on, too…” Aerith inhaled the smell of her fresh coffee deeply. The nice woman had brought them all fresh coffee and breakfast.

“Hey, can I get some coffee?” Yuffie looked at Barret.

“I don’t think you need any of this. You already seem like you’re wound up enough. I don’t even want to imagine you on caffeine or sugar or anything else that may make you more of a brat than you already are.”

“HEY!”

“SHHH!” Aerith gave Yuffie daggers. Cloud moved a bit.

“Geez, Yuffie! I wanted to see how long this went!” Aerith hissed.

“Only because you have 100 Gil on it!” Yuffie snapped back in a low whisper. Aerith smiled at her – that evil, conniving, genius smile that only Aerith could have.

“Was it… 30 minutes of us staring or 15 and then it’d go to the next bracket?” Red asked.

“If they last over 20 minutes, Barret wins everything.” Yuffie said.

“Well you keep opening your damn mouth…” Barret sipped his coffee more.

“You’re one to talk…” Yuffie walked over towards the front of the house. She had 50 Gil on 10 minutes, which was 30 seconds from ending.

“So this is _If the Price is Right_ rules, right?” Barret asked Aerith, “Heh, I bet that’s Cloud’s favorite show. Said that damn line enough…”

Aerith bit her tongue to stop her from laughing too loud, “Yes, so if it goes over the time you guessed, you get nothing.”

“Psh, whatever. You guys _obviously_ gave them tranquilizers or something.” Yuffie was pouting in the corner. She was still being quiet. Maybe because Barret and Aerith had daggers on her.

The reason these four were so interested in what was going on with Cloud and Tifa was because of whatever odd physics had happened through the night to make them get so tangled up. The blanket had been kicked off. Tifa’s right leg was between Cloud’s legs. Her hand was on his stomach and her head tucked slightly towards his chest. Cloud had his left hand over the one Tifa had on his stomach. His right arm had somehow made its way under her neck. He also had his head almost touching the top of her head, but not quite.

“I think the best part about this is they have no idea this happened… like they did this in their sleep… can’t see him doing this intentionally… I definitely can’t see her doing it intentionally. She’s too guarded for that….” Barret was looking at Tifa like a daughter – almost – but not with the bring-her-home-by-nine-my-shot-gun-is-now-clean look. Maybe a little bit of acceptance of the blonde boy she was curled up next to? Only a little.

Cloud started to stir first.

“Time check!” Aerith hissed quickly.

“16:27.” Red said quietly.

“Dammit…” Aerith said.

“Did anybody have between 17 and 30 minutes?” Barret said.

“Yes, I’ll be taking all of that… I had 20 minutes.” Red walked over and collected his winnings. 200 Gil wasn’t too bad for this.

Cloud slowly started opening his eyes. He saw a ceiling. Where is he? He had a dream… that voice was talking to him about Tifa? Why? He feels something warm to his right and a weight on his abdomen. He slowly looks down, but spots four pairs of eyes staring at him, two of which were sipping coffee, one was definitely on the verge of a temper tantrum, and one was putting a good amount of Gil away. He slowly looked down further to follow their eyes… and….

_“T-T-Tifa is sleeping…. Next to me… and curled up…”_

Cloud froze. Eyes are wide. Face is red. Heart is pounding. He doesn’t look away from Tifa because he doesn’t know what to do.

_“This is worse than the hug. Do I move? Do I quietly take her hand off? What do I do…?”_

Tifa started to move a bit and slowly opened her eyes. Cloud swallowed hard and waited for an upper cut to the jaw. Her eyes first saw his body then slowly moved up to meet his eyes. She looked just as shocked as he did.

“Does anybody have a PHS with a camera?” Yuffie was cackling.

“Already done.” Aerith had that mischievous look on her face again.

Cloud and Tifa froze and quickly untangled from each other, each sitting on the opposite side of the bed, backs to each other. Red was an understatement on the color of their faces.

“G-Good morning… everyone.” Tifa offered a warm smile that was also riddled with embarrassment.

“Oh, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about! I’m sure you were just cold. It looked pretty cozy to me.” Aerith sipped her coffee and fluttered her eye lashes at Tifa, “You guys are childhood friends!”

“R-Right…” Tifa smiled again towards Aerith. Cloud stared out the back window.

“Gaia to Cloud!” Aerith had walked over to him at this point and was waving her hand in his face.

“Huh?”

“Looks like you had a good sleep, huh?”

“I.. suppose so…” Cloud scratched the back of his head.

Red perked up a bit and walked towards the door, “Do you hear that?”

Music. Lively music. Cloud recognized it as the Shinra March, which was usually used for major celebrations. This must be for Rufus’ Inauguration.

“We should figure out a way to get up there soon…” Cloud stood up and put his boots and gloves back on.

Yuffie and Red had already gone outside. Aerith and Barret were heading out. Tifa was just finishing putting her gloves on and started heading out.

Cloud remembered what the dream had said, “Hey, Tifa…”

“Yeah?”

“Uh… Five years ago… Did we get to catch up at all? I can’t really remember that clearly…”

“I…..”

“Tifa! Cloud! Need to get out here.” Barret had just stepped outside, and something must have been going on. Cloud sighed, knowing Tifa wasn’t going to be able to finish that thought.

Outside of the home, there was a flurry of activity. People were running around with banners, catering equipment, and other items you’d see used in a large celebration. Yuffie and Red were already standing a bit down the road, so the rest of the group met up with them. The older woman who owned the home they stayed in was also standing with them.

The older woman approached Tifa, “Priscilla is awake! She wants to thank her savior. Please, go up the stairs there. She said she will come out in a moment.”

“Oh, it’s alright, I… I’m just glad she’s okay!” Tifa was blushing slightly. She didn’t feel she needed any public praise for saving the girl’s life. Anybody would have done the same thing.

The door at the top of the stairs opened. A young girl walked out and looked down… at Cloud.

“Priscilla! This young lady is the one who was able to revive you!” The older woman encouraged Tifa to walk forward. Priscilla looked at Tifa and frowned.

“I thought that man over there, the one I’m going to marry, saved me?”

“Uhhh…..” Cloud looked at the rest of the team. Yuffie was cackling, of course. Barret, Red and Aerith all had awkward, confused looks on their faces, Tifa’s mouth was slightly open.

“No, no, this young woman saved you!” The woman explained.

“Well, they all _did_ help to keep the monster away…” Tifa nervously offered.

“See? That’s why I’m going to marry him! I saw him when I woke up and it was like waking up to a Prince! My Knight in Shining Armor!” She was absolutely beaming at Cloud, “And he hasn’t even told me his name!”

Cloud looked over to Tifa and Aerith for help, but both were just as confused as he was.

“Cloud! His name is Cloud!” Yuffie yelled over to her. This was met with searing looks from Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith.

“Oh, Cloud! Such a dreamy name!” Priscilla stayed up on her steps, looking down on them like they were her royal subjects, “Cloud, when will you return? We must plan the wedding.”

“Listen, I’m not…” Cloud didn’t even know how to handle this.

“Priscilla, dear, perhaps you should let Cloud think about this?” The old woman offered.

“UGH! I’m _thirteen_ I am _not_ getting any younger!”

“Thirteen?!” Aerith, Barret, and Tifa all exclaimed.

“Yes, I’m not _old_ like you all are.”

“Old?!” Aerith just looked mad at this point, “I’ll have you know I am _not_ old!”

“The hell with this.” Cloud walked off towards the elevator, hoping to find a way to get up to the parade before they wasted anymore time. The guard put his hand up.

“Sorry, can’t let you use this right now. Only Shinra personnel.” Cloud began to say something to the guy but was interrupted.

“Cloud! Wait!” Priscilla began to descend the stairs, “I know you need to find a way up. I can help you!”

Cloud narrowed his eyes at the girl but knew he really didn’t have any other option at this point. He sighed and looked at her to continue.

“We can have Mr. Dolphin help us!”

“How is a dolphin going to….?”

“Come with me!” Priscilla began to pull Cloud towards the shore. Cloud suddenly stopped.

“Hey, Priscilla.” Cloud tried to say as nicely as possible, but it probably came out a little more brash than he would have liked.

“Yes?”

“Tifa is the one who saved you yesterday. You should thank her. She’s not expecting it, but I think you should.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do.” Cloud was giving her a stern look at this point. Priscilla sighed.

“Fiiiinnnee..” Priscilla stomped over towards the rest of the party. Tifa and Aerith were in a conversation with Yuffie. Barret and Red were looking at questionable food at one of the food carts. Priscilla walked up to the girls and they all stopped their conversation. Cloud couldn’t hear what was said, but Tifa did begin to smile.

She ran back over to Cloud, “Are you happy now?”

Cloud looked over at the three girls and Tifa nodded, Aerith barely nodded with an odd look on her face, and it was a no from Yuffie. _“Well, if Tifa is okay with it… since it was for her…”_

“I guess it’s fine.”

“What, is she like your girlfriend or something?” Priscilla sounded much more irritated with this question than she should have.

Cloud turned and rolled his eyes, “No, she’s not my girlfriend.” He started walking towards the shore and sighed.

“Then why were you staring at her?”

“Why are you asking so many questions?” Cloud was getting irritated, _“This is why I don’t like kids. Kids like this. Marlene seems okay. I’m sorry, Biggs… I will still go see the ones at the Leaf House for you. Maybe when this is all over…”_

The group made it to the shore. Priscilla pulled her whistle out and blew. Mr. Dolphin came close to the shore.

“So, all you’ve gotta do is use the whistle to call Mr. Dolphin over and then tell him when you want to get thrown up on the ledge!” Priscilla said this as if it was a logical way to get up the tower and the only way to get up the tower.

Cloud started feeling around on his belt hoping that he had a grappling gun. Anything. Anything aside from riding a dolphin and being thrown by a dolphin over certain death if he misses the ledge. He turned to everyone else. One of them has to have something… They all shake their heads.

“Okay. Do you have an item store in this town?”

“Nope!”

“You don’t have an item store….”

“Ugh, I just said no!”

“How about a weapons store?”

“Yeah, but what’s that gonna do?”

“Get me a safer way up there than getting thrown by a dolphin.” Cloud turned to head back to town.

“Cloud! You have to trust Mr. Dolphin! He will get you up there safely, you just have to believe in him!” Priscilla handed him the whistle. What choice did he have? They probably didn’t have grappling guns in this town _because_ people would try to get up there without clearance.

Cloud looked at the whistle, Mr. Dolphin, the electricity clearly flowing under this tower, and the height of the ledge he needed to get to. He let out a sigh and walked over towards the shore and blew the whistle. Mr. Dolphin came over and waited for Cloud to get on.

“Oh, Cloud! Let me take your PHS in case it gets wet…” Aerith held her hand out and Cloud handed it to her.

Mr. Dolphin was a bit bigger than Cloud expected. He seemed to hold his weight fine, but there was no way Barret or Red XIII would be able to do this without certain death. Aerith would definitely not be able to land on a ledge that small. Yuffie and Tifa… they could land on it. Well, Tifa could… for sure…. He sighed as he realized they can’t come up anyway. They don’t have Shinra uniforms on and would stick out like sore thumbs. He needed to go alone and figure out a way to get the rest of them up there and onto the cargo ship without being noticed.

“This oughta be good…” Barret smirked.

“I dunno, this looks really dangerous…” Aerith frowned. What if Cloud missed? She clasps her hands together.

Cloud directed Mr. Dolphin over under the beam. He was careful to keep an eye on the electrical currents. One wrong move and…

“Now when you’re ready, blow the whistle!” Priscilla instructed.

“It’s now or never, I guess…” Cloud blew the whistle and was launched upward. His stomach turned at the feeling. As he approached the ledge, he realized he may not be high enough, so he reached as far as he could and was able to grab the ledge. Barely.

_“No Tifa to pull me up this time… need to get myself up there…”_

Since he had his sword on his back this time, he was able to get the other hand up and pull himself up. What a relief He waved down to his comrades and began to ascend the ladder towards the upper city. Tifa was giving him _the look_ where she seems worried.

***

Barret looked at Aerith, “How are we going to know where to go?” Aerith looked down and her eyebrows knit together, deep in thought.

“Perhaps our friend at the fishing hut can help us?” Red motioned towards the old man, sitting outside of the hut. The party approached him with their best customer service faces on.

Aerith smiled warmly at the old man, “Excuse me, but we really need help… You see, our friend was thrown up by the dolphin accidentally… got a little carried away… And we need to go up and get him.”

“Beg your pardon?” The old man was utterly confused.

“Yes, Cloud wanted to see what all of the hype was over the dolphin. Priscilla was talking about how fun it was, and… he got stuck up there. He found a safe way off of the tower, but it seems he’s now on the upper city.” Tifa was really hoping this man didn’t call the Shinra soldiers over to arrest them at this point. This _did_ sound awful suspicious.

“Well… you did save our little Priscilla… I suppose I can see if we can distract the guard over there for a moment.” The old man slowly stood up and made his way over towards the elevator. He began talking to the guard and looking in the opposite direction of the party.

 _“Well at least it doesn’t appear he’s reporting us…”_ Tifa felt relieved.

The guard followed the old man in the direction that he was pointing to. It was behind a shop, out of view.

“Go, go, go!” Barret began running with the rest of the crew behind him. They quickly pressed the button and entered the elevator. Barret sang his victory fanfare song.

“Maybe dial it back a little?” Tifa cocked an eyebrow at him.

“This is exciting! We’re gonna see Rufus again, get a rematch!” Barret held his gun arm up.

“We are doing this to get on the cargo ship. We need to leave Rufus alone or it’ll bring too much attention and we’ll get stuck here or worse.” Tifa put her hands on her hips.

“Whatever. None of you are ever any fun on these. When I ran missions, the first rule was to have fun!” Barret seemed proud of this.

“Barret, the first rule on _all_ of your missions was to be as loud as possible and make a scene.” Tifa eyed him and crossed her arms.

“Same thing as having fun!”

Tifa sighed as the elevator ascended towards the city, “Did anybody tell Cloud we were going to do this or…?”

Everybody looked at each other and then in any direction that _wasn’t_ towards Tifa.

“I figured…”

***

Cloud cautiously walked along the runways towards the only building in sight. It seemed that if he could get through that building, he could get to the other side of the city and then figure out a way to get the rest of them on the elevator. This would work best. He needed to find a way to get the rest of the team uniforms… but what about Red? Barret wouldn’t fit in a standard issue uniform, either… Maybe Red can walk on his hind legs?

As he entered the building, he was forcefully pulled to his right by a Lieutenant.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?! We’ve gotta get out there in less than 10 minutes!”

Cloud blinked at the guy, “Huh?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, kid! You need to get changed! The parade is starting in less than 10 minutes!” The Lieutenant pushed Cloud towards a few lockers, “Go grab a uniform!”

Cloud sighed and opened a locker. A Shinra standard issue entry level uniform… a grunt. He paused for a moment before pulling it out.

“Come on, kid! Hurry it up!”

“Yes, sir…” Cloud rolled his eyes and put the uniform over his clothes. It fit him perfectly…

_“This brings back memories… wonder when I got sick of putting it…”_

“Hey, looks good on you!”

Cloud shrugged. He was holding a rifle… and didn’t know what to do with his sword. It was too big to bring with him…

 _“I hope you guys can get in here and see this…”_ Cloud was hesitant but put the sword in the locker. At this point, he needed to have faith in his friends to grab it before they left… in case he wasn’t going to be able to come back.

“Alright! Time to practice the routine. Rufus is personally going to be watching this, so we can’t screw it up! Do you know the routine?”

“Uhh….” Cloud shrugged a bit.

“Hey! You two! Get in here! Need to teach the rookie the ropes!”

“YES SIR!” Two enthusiastic soldiers came in proudly, rifles ready to go.

“Okay, I’m assuming you know the march?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, so we’ll do the routine. MUSIC!” One of the two enthusiastic soldiers turned to a radio and hit play.

_Oh yes, I'm the great pretender_

“AND LEFT!” _  
Pretending that I'm someone else_

“CROSS!” _  
My need is such; I pretend too much_

“LEFT!” _  
I'm lonely but no one can tell._

“DROP!”

_Oh yes, I'm the great pretender_

“FORWARD!” _  
I drift in a world of my own_

“CROSS!” _  
I play the game; but to my real shame_

“RELOAD!”

 _“These lyrics.._.” _  
You've left me to dream all alone._

“LEFT!”

_Too real is this feeling of make believe_

“SHOULDER!”

 _“What the hell..?”_ Cloud started feeling an incredible amount of anxiety… _  
Too real when I feel what my heart can't conceal._

“RIGHT!”

_Oh yes I'm the great pretender_

“CROSS!” _  
Just floating like a gray cloud_

“RELOAD!”

 _“Feeling a little too close to home, yet?”_ _  
I seem to be what I'm not; you see_

“RELOAD!” Cloud missed the queue.

“PAUSE!!” The Shinra soldier ran over and paused the song.

“Kid! Get your head in the game!”

“Sorry..” Cloud shook his head to try and get rid of the bad feeling.

“Sir! We need a final move!”

“Ahh… hey, rookie, give us one!”

Cloud shrugged and did a spin of the rifle and shouldered it.

“Woahhhhh!!!”

“Alright, that’s the final move!”

“MUSIC!” _  
I'm wearing my heart like a crown_

“RIGHT!” _  
Pretending that you're still around._

“RIGHT!”

_Too real is this…_

“FINISH!”

The music stopped.

“Not bad, kid! Just had that one moment, but whatever, not bad for a rookie!”

Cloud nodded and thought for a moment before asking, “What song was that?”

The three men looked at him and started laughing.

“Just the best song of all time!”

“Yeah, it’s _The Great Pretender_ by the Top Platers.”

“Can’t believe you didn’t know that.”

Cloud shrugged. _“What an odd song… I don’t want to hear it again… I don’t like the way it makes me feel…”_

***

“We’re going to luck out – looks like all of the soldiers are out for the parade.” Barret and crew entered the building near the runway and it was empty.

“Okay, we need to find a way to disguise ourselves…” Tifa looked around.

“Locker room!” Yuffie entered a door on the right.

Tifa hesitated.

“What?” Aerith looked at Tifa.

“Well… it’s like a men’s locker room, right?”

“So?” Yuffie looked out from the room.

“Well…”

“Tifa, we’ve gotta do something. Can’t walk around like this.” Barret softly explained, “Don’t worry, nobody’s gonna come in.” Tifa nodded and entered.

Yuffie was opening lockers to see what was inside, “Hey isn’t this Cloud’s sword?”

Tifa walked over, “Yeah… I guess he’s already in disguise… I’ll grab his sword… I doubt he’ll be able to get back here and we’re going to need it…”

“Okay, enough talk, get changed!” Barret commanded.

Tifa, Aerith, Yuffie, and Red all found uniforms that fit mostly well. Red was practicing his “human” walk. Barret was cursing. A lot.

“What’s wrong, Barret?” Aerith walked towards back where Barret was.

“None of these damn uniforms fit! What the hell, they got a bunch of runts in Shinra?!”

“How about this?” Aerith pulls a white sailor uniform out of one of the lockers.

“The hell is that?!”

“Something to hide your normal clothes. PUT IT ON.” Tifa seemed a bit irritated at this point, “I just want to get out of here. Please.” Everyone blinked and swallowed hard. Barret immediately went back and put the uniform on. Tifa grabbed Cloud’s sword and left the room, fully dressed as a Shinra grunt.

Barret emerged and Yuffie fell over a bench from laughing.

***

Marching. Cloud hadn’t had to march in… When was the last time he had to march? His body seemed to know what to do. Stand up straight. Stay in step with the guy next to you. Don’t take too big or small of a stride. Keep your speed even. Look straight ahead.

The announcers were saying various things that echoed throughout the streets. Seems that they were happy with the marching. Strange thing to rate… Towards the end, the soldiers began to disperse. Cloud could see the cargo ship in the distance… _“I’ve gotta figure out how to get the others here… I should have figured out how to get away from this stupid marching…”_

“Alright men! We get a short break. Rufus will be here very soon. Let’s make sure we remember the routine!”

“Aww, but sir, we don’t have the music!” One of the enthusiastic soldiers said a little _too_ sadly.

“No time! Do we even need to practice? Rookie?”

“Nope.”

“Great!”

_“Phew…”_

A transport vehicle came down from the runway.

“Okay, he’s here, ready?” The men all nodded and stood at attention.

Rufus Shinra exited the vehicle, followed by Heidegger.

 _“Oh, this guy’s here too?”_ Cloud smirked. Just a few days ago he had a field day blowing out his army with a motorcycle.

Heidegger began going down the line. He was asking each soldier what they were specializing in.

“Swords, sir!”

“Rifles, sir!”

“Mechanics, sir!”

Heidegger stepped in front of Cloud, “What are you specializing in, son?”

“Motorcycles.” Cloud smirked. Heidegger slightly opened his mouth and shifted his eyes over to the Lieutenant.

“…Sir.” Cloud finished. Heidegger pushed Cloud back a good three feet. He somehow stayed on his feet.

“GET THE HELL OUT OF MY FACE! ALL OF YOU!” The soldiers were dodging punches and pushes left and right. Heidegger straightened up his uniform and walked away as if nothing happened, towards the cargo ship.

“Man, he’s worse than he normally is!” One soldier said quietly to the small group that had gathered.

“I hear it’s because of the guy in the black cape…” Another said.

Cloud looked at the guy, “Guy in the black cape?”

“Yeah, apparently they’re after him…. Rumor is…. It might be _Sephiroth!_ ”

Cloud gritted his teeth, _“Sephiroth…”_

“MEN! We’ve got 15 minutes until we sent Rufus off to Costa del Sol!”

“YES, SIR!”

Cloud began to walk away and was stopped.

“Hey! You! Are you screwing with the army?”

“Uhh… what?”

“COME WITH ME!”

Cloud found himself being escorted back to the building. Maybe he could grab his sword…

***

Tifa was hiding behind a pile of cargo crates with Cloud’s sword hidden, hoping nobody would notice a grunt walking around with such a large sword. The cargo ship was being loaded up with supplies. The crew was going back and forth. Yuffie and Aerith were already helping to load crates to fit in with the rest of the crew. Red was hiding until he could find an opening to try and walk into the cargo ship as “humanly” as possible. Barret was also hiding behind crates onboard. Every so often, she’d see a flash of white pop up above the boxes.

As Tifa was growing anxious on where Cloud could be, a group of soldiers marched in. She spotted one that seemed very familiar.

_“That has to be him…”_

Cloud looked over towards her position and smirked a bit to confirm it. She moved the sword a bit to show him they got it and then put a finger to her lips. He nodded back and focused back on the task at hand, which was apparently entertaining Rufus and Heidegger who arrived shortly after the men lined up.

The Lieutenant started yelling commands, which the soldiers followed. Cloud was a natural.

 _“I guess that makes sense… he would have had to go through all of this training before joining SOLDIER… He looks good in that uniform… What am I saying?! Sigh… Why am I doing this? What is going on with me?”_ Tifa took a deep breath. A feeling of anxiety was creeping over her the longer she looked at the uniform. A feeling of anxiety and then familiarity.

***

Rufus seemed impressed with the show, “Good work…” He kept glancing at Cloud, “Heidegger, please give this one something special… Perhaps a Parry Materia?” Rufus smirked directly at Cloud. That son of a bitch knew it was him. He did his stupid hair flip and turned to go into the ship. Heidegger punched a soldier for no reason and quickly caught up to Rufus.

“Hey, did you hear Hojo resigned?”

“Yeah, that’s why I think they were in such a rush to get through here today… they think he ran to the other continent and still need him…”

“Wow, hasn’t he been with Shinra for like 50 years or something crazy?”

“Not 50, but maybe 30!”

Cloud picked up on the talk with the soldiers. _“Hojo resigned…? Why?”_

“That’s enough talk! You’re dismissed!” The men began to disperse.

Cloud caught a glimpse of Tifa and followed the other men leaving the area, slipping behind the cargo crates right at the last moment.

“Hey.” She whispered to him, “Everyone is on the ship.”

“Glad to hear it.” He picked up his sword and looked at it, “I’ll take it from here…”

“Be my guest….” She smiled.

***

“I…. Hate…. Boats…..” Yuffie lurched forward again behind a group of crates. Aerith was standing with her asking what they should do, “Tranqu…ilizers…”

Aerith thinks back… “Wellll…. We don’t have any….”

“What… do you… mean…?” Yuffie was panting and gagging.

“Welll…….”

“You….. didn’t!”

Aerith bit her lip and looked away from Yuffie, “I may have…”

“Oh, you…. <lurch> ….cheater!”

“I still didn’t win!”

“Now…. I’m out 50 Gil… and have lost every…thing… that’s…. <lurch> ever….. existed… in my…. Stomach….. I ha….” Yuffie gave up speaking at this point.

Red walked by and just so happened to flash 50 Gil at Yuffie.

“He looks… stupid…”

***

Cloud walked through the loading dock and saw two smaller soldiers fighting behind some crates. He sighed and walked over to them, _“Must be Aerith and Yuffie… seems like everybody else is up on deck…”_

“I can’t… believe….” Yuffie started.

“You guys good over here?” Cloud asked.

“Oh! Hi, Cloud!” Aerith seemed a bit too nervous.

“Cl….ouddd…. Aerith….. gav….” Aerith kicked Yuffie in the shin, “UGH!”

“What?”

“Oh, Cloud. Yuffie is seasick it seems. Do you have any Tranquilizers?”

“Umm… let me see…” Cloud rummaged around, “I swore we had a few left…”

“Darn, that’s a shame. Wonder if maybe while we were all changing into these uniforms they fell out.” Aerith sighed, “Oh well.”

“Yeah… weird.”

Yuffie shot the dirtiest look she could muster and continued to suffer. She promised herself that Aerith would have her Materia stolen first.

Aerith looked over at Cloud, “You may want to go up and check on Barret, make sure he’s not doing something… too crazy.”

***

Red was practicing his humanly skills. He couldn’t understand how humans could wear clothes… They were uncomfortable and restricting. Land couldn’t come soon enough at this point…

“Hey, Red…” Cloud said, pretty confidently.

“Hey, Cloud. How do I look? Do I pass as a human?”

“Yeah, not bad,” Cloud thought back, “Did they stop you trying to get on board?”

“Almost, but we got by… Yuffie told them I had some disease.”

“Ah, that’s good… I think. Do you know where Barret is?”

“I think I saw him go towards the bow.”

“Thanks.”

Cloud started walking towards the bow and a soldier stopped him. It wasn’t one of them.

“Sigh, I guess I should propose soon…. They say you need three months salary for a ring…”

Cloud was trying to figure out a way to get past this guy without having to say a word to him. He was _not_ getting in to this conversation with anybody, “Hey, sorry, got an urgent call up front.”

“Oh, sorry…”

Cloud slipped past, _“Perfect. Maybe Tifa is right… being nice sometimes helps…”_

It wasn’t hard to find Barret… There was a very large man in a very ridiculous white sailor suit… popping up and down and looking through a window at what appeared to be Rufus and Heidegger.

Cloud sighed and quietly approached Barret, “Barret…”

Barret jumped, “What the hell man!?”

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m seeing what these two assholes are talking about, that’s what!” Barret was really not great at whispering, but whatever Rufus and Heidegger were discussing seemed to have them completely distracted.

“You can’t even hear anything through this glass.”

“So? Maybe they’ll show something. I can _see_ through the damn glass.”

Cloud sighed.

“Why don’t you go find Tifa. I think she was wondering where you were.” Barret turned and gave him a look.

Cloud sighed, “Well, where is she?”

“Oh, you can’t tell which one she is?”

“’Course I can.”

“That’s what I thought. I’ll keep things going up here and you go find her.” Barret smirked at him. The one smirk that Cloud hated. It was the _I won_ smirk. What did he even win?

***

A lone soldier was standing up on an upper deck.

Cloud gave the smallest smile and walked up to stand next to this lone soldier.

“Hey…. It’s me...” Tifa turned, a bit startled, towards Cloud.

“I know.”

“Oh, you can tell?” Tifa’s voice indicated that she also cocked an eyebrow, but he couldn’t see that under her helmet.

“Uh, yeah, I mean, I know where all of you are.” He cleared his throat.

“That uniform looks like it fits you perfectly. It looks good.” She said as she looked back out at the sea.

“Uh… thanks…” This brought a very strange feeling to him. _“Well… that’s interesting… huh?”_ Cloud brushed the voice off, “Your uniform looks good too.”

Tifa blushed, “Thanks, Cloud.”

They stood in silence. It felt as if things were regressing a bit. The awkward feeling was back at times between them. Not all the time, but…

“How are the others?” she finally asked.

“Fine… Yuffie has sea-sickness - Aerith is helping her out. Red is struggling with walking and Barret is acting like a moron.”

“Cloud…”

“Sorry…”

Tifa laughed a bit.

“What?”

“Well, I guess I shouldn’t complain… you and Barret definitely get along _a lot_ better than you did when I first introduced you two…”

“Yeah… that’s true…”

“He does care about you, you know.”

“I guess.”

“No, he really does, Cloud. He was really upset when you went unconscious in the Shinra building…”

Cloud felt a little surprised at this. Barret was upset? About him?

“Well, that makes two of us, then… I worry about him too.”

Tifa turned and smiled at him.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded and the boat turned violently causing Tifa to lose her balance and fall right in to Cloud, causing him to also lose his balance..

***

“The hell was that?!” Barret ran towards Red.

“I’m not sure. Where is Cloud?”

“He was going to look for Tifa last time I talked to him.”

Two soldiers came from below deck towards Barret and Red.

“That’s not them…” Barret began scanning the deck and saw two soldiers laying down on one of the upper decks.

“HEY! CLOUD! WHAT THE HELL MAN?! I DIDN’T KNOW IT WAS KISSY, KISSY NAP TIME!”

“….What is kissy, kissy nap time?” Red looked at Barret as did Yuffie and Aerith.

“Man, don’t worry about it, why you gotta ask these kinds of questions?”

“…You’re the one who said it.”

“We seriously need to figure out what caused that.” Aerith seemed serious.

Cloud and Tifa were running towards the group at this point.

“Well, well, well….”

“I fell, Barret, from whatever the impact was. Cloud caught me and it caused him to fall. That’s it.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Guys!” Aerith regained control of the group. She also took 5 Gil from Red, “I think something happened down below…”

“Alright, I’ll go check it out.” Cloud went towards the stairs to the lower deck.

“Not alone you’re not!” Barret yelled over. Cloud stopped.

 _“Maybe he does care, even if he’s an ass.”_ Cloud sighed, “Fine… let’s go. Probably would be best to go as a team… not sure what’s going to be down there…”

“Can I take my uniform off?” Red asked.

“Yeah, I don’t think it’ll matter at this point…” Aerith cut in. Cloud looked over at her with a baffled look.

Red and Barret couldn’t take their uniforms off fast enough. Aerith took her uniform off and adjusted her dress. Tifa took her helmet on, which was followed by her hair flowing back down to where it belonged. Cloud also took his helmet off, though a little hesitantly.

Yuffie ripped her helmet off. Sweat was all over her face from being seasick.

“Yuffie… uh…. You may want to sit this one out…” Cloud looked slightly concerned. But only slightly.

“I want to kick…. Ass….” Yuffie ran to the side of the ship and lurched forward.

“Barret, can you stay up here with Yuffie? Just make sure nothing happens up here… She can’t defend herself if something does.” Cloud asked.

Barret opened his mouth to protest, but decided to just agree, “You call me if you need backup! You hear me?”

“Will do.”

Cloud and Barret nodded acknowledgement toward each other.

Red, Aerith, Tifa, and Cloud descended below.

As soon as they hit the steps, there was blood. It seemed that the soldiers below were killed by someone… or something…

“What did this?” Tifa had a hint of fear in her voice.

“It looks the same as what happened to the people at the Shinra building…”

“Sephiroth…..” Cloud walked forward towards the back room below deck. The door was slightly ajar. He slowly pushed it open, revealing more bodies.

A lone soldier stood in front of the control monitors. Cloud slowly approached him and reached out to him. He suddenly turned… and fell forward.

“Cloud.” The cold, cutting voice of Sephiroth.

“Shut up!”

“Oh, Cloud… you’re really going to talk like that to an old friend? Oh… wait…. Were you…. Were you with me then? I don’t recall….”

Tifa froze and held her breath.

“Perhaps I’ll think about it for a bit…. So much has happened…,” he glances at Tifa, “it’s hard to keep track of all of you….” Sephiroth gave him the smile he saved only for Cloud.

Cloud was grinding his teeth at this point.

“Hmph,” Sephiroth looked around at the dead soldiers surrounding them, “I guess you couldn’t get down here in time to save them…”

“SHUT UP!”

“Well, Cloud. I’m sure we’ll see each other _very_ soon…” Prior to leaving, Sephiroth threw something towards Cloud.

The party found themselves, once again, in a completely different room than they were before… Facing… Jenova.

“What?! I thought we killed it before!” Tifa yelled. She also realized she was going to have to fight this thing in a full Shinra uniform.

“Jenova will always be here as long as her cells are here…” Aerith said solemnly.

“What? How do we get rid of them?!” Tifa seemed visibly upset at this point.

Aerith just shook her head…

“Guys! Heads up!” Cloud yelled as Jenova started attacking.

This Jenova version functioned differently than the previous one, but only slightly. The fight was surprisingly not a challenge, even with Tifa in less than ideal attire to perform at her maximum ability. Jenova BIRTH fell, leaving behind a black cloaked man with the number 2 tattooed on his arm.

“Wait…” Aerith started prior to the man disappearing.

“Yeah… that’s the one we saw in Sector 5…” Cloud put his sword on his back… He recalled this one jumping from the Shinra building with Jenova… So why is he here now?

Tifa worried her bottom lip, “Do you think Marco made it out before the Sector 7 plate collapse… and if he did…. Will this happen to him? He had a number 49 tattooed on his arm…”

Aerith and Red looked up at Cloud briefly and then down again.

Cloud looked over at Tifa. Her eyes were full of fear and concern… Pleading him to tell her everything would be okay… he had to look down from their gaze. He didn’t know how to answer this to calm her fears…

The answer would only confirm them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. This chapter was definitely way longer than I thought it would ever be. The music part with Cloud I added in because I always enjoy it when music can make people recall things or feel a certain way.


	3. Can't Take My Eyes Off You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Round, round, get around I get around, yeah, get around woooo ooooo…”  
> Cloud looks over at him, “Hey, Barret?”  
> Barret stops singing, but keeps dancing a bit, “What?”  
> “Who sings this song?”  
> Barret perks up thinking Cloud is actually interested, “The del Sol Boys!” He starts singing again.  
> “Let’s keep it that way.”  
> "You're cold, man. Real cold."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, Costa del Sol! We are going to get a glimpse of the second timeline too...

“Welcome! To Costa del Sol!”

As they left the cargo ship, careful to slip by as quietly as possible, they’re greeted by workers placing leis around the new arrivals. Yuffie gets leis and cheek kisses from multiple muscular, tall, tan, and handsome men. Aerith smiles nicely at one and accepts two leis and a cheek kiss.

“I hate this place already…” Red is panting.

“Well, hopefully we can find some shade for you…” Cloud is looking intensely at these muscular, tall, tan, and handsome men as Tifa approaches. Three of the men come toward her and start to place leis around her neck. One starts to lean in before he catches the gaze of glowing blue pools of death staring at him. He backs off. Tifa looks behind her, confused. Cloud has averted his gaze elsewhere. As he passes by, he gives them a look. They won’t be trying anything with her again.

A woman walks up to Cloud and attempts to place a lei around his neck. He backs up from her. She looks confused but turns to Barret and puts it on him. Even Red gets one.

“What, you think you’re too tough for a lei?” Barret huffs at Cloud.

Cloud sighs, “No, I didn’t know what she was doing.”

“You didn’t see the other ten people in front of you getting them?”

“Whatever, Barret.”

Tifa turns towards them since she hears them having a slight dispute (again).

“Everything okay back here?” She eyes up Barret’s lei and Cloud’s lack of lei.

“Yeah. Mr. Personality over here thinks he’s too cool for a lei, that’s all.”

“That’s not—” Cloud’s words are cut off as Tifa places one of her leis over his head.

“There!” Tifa backs up to inspect her work. He can’t tell if she’s blushing from the bright sun and high temperatures or because of what just happened.

Cloud is just glad that he has the excuse that it’s the sun and heat causing his face to turn different shades of pink and red.

“Hah! Tifa _leid_ Cloud!” Yuffie turns to look.

“Ha ha, real mature, Yuffie.” Tifa rolls her eyes, though she can’t help but to smile a bit.

“Oldest joke in the book…” Barret waves a hand.

The crew walks along until they see the main part of the city. It’s vibrant – a typical surf town. Everybody is wearing the bare minimum on clothing, they’re all tall, tan, and handsome.

“This is like a less smelly Wall Market.” Aerith observes, “And a lot warmer… and there’s less creepy people…”

“Yeah, I’ll say.” Tifa is looking around, “It’s _much_ nicer than Wall Market.”

 _“What’s THAT supposed to mean…”_ Cloud begins to pout a bit – something he doesn’t seem to have control over but is activated by things Tifa says and does. Unfortunately, Aerith notices…

“Aww, Cloud! Why the long face?”

“It’s hot. We’re just passing through here.” Cloud crosses his arms.

“Oh, you’re not fun! I was thinking that we should go swimming. What do you think, Tifa?” Aerith runs up next to Tifa, prompting her to turn around.

“Well, I don’t think we have anything to swim in…” Tifa bites her bottom lip a bit.

“That’s what stores are for!” Aerith looks back at Cloud, “We’re going to get bathing suits and go swimming.”

Cloud stares blankly at her. Tifa continues to head towards a Surf Shop with Yuffie.

“Oh, and Cloud…” Aerith walks back over to him and hands him the PHS she held for him back in Junon, “Be careful getting _too_ many ideas. You might melt that cold exterior you have in one shot…” She skips ahead to catch up with Tifa and Yuffie.

Cloud sighs.

Aerith turns again, “Oh, and I didn’t go through your PHS or anything, don’t worry!” She winks and him and turns to catch up with the other girls.

 _“What’s that supposed to mean?”_ Cloud sighs, looks at his PHS and puts it in his pocket.

“Girls going swimming?” Barret asks, already covered in sweat, “Not a bad idea.”

“Well you all enjoy that…” Red huffs.

“Why can’t you swim? Water here is crystal clear! Won’t mess up your fur.” Barret suggests, “Would help keep you cool and you don’t even need a swim suit.”

“Hmm, perhaps you’re on to something for once… I’m going to try shade first and then will try the ocean if that fails.” Red walks over under an overhang at a store front and lays down.

“What about you?” Barret points to Cloud.

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t swim.”

“You don’t dance, you don’t swim, anything else you don’t do?”

“Yeah, tell you what the other things are.” Cloud walks past.

“Why’s he gotta be…”

***

“I think the last time I went swimming… was when I was around 7.” Tifa smiled at the memory. A happy memory.

“Oh, I go swimming all the time. I just feel like buying something new.” Yuffie says, looking through the various bikinis, tankinis, and one-pieces.

“I’ve never gotten to. Not many places in the slums to swim without getting sick!” Aerith laughed a bit, “Top side if you can get into a swim club, sure… but not under.”

“Nibelheim had a beach within an hour and a lake nearby. It was… nice…”

“It sure sounds nice…” Aerith slowly looked through the selection, “Oh, Tifa, I think this one is perfect for you!”

Aerith pulls a red bikini off the rack.

“I dunno… doesn’t it seem… a bit much?” Tifa crosses her arms over her stomach.

“Not at all! I think it’s _perfect._ ” Aerith sings.

“I think this one is better.” Yuffie pulls out a wetsuit.

“…Uhh…” Tifa looks between the two women.

“Yuffie, it’s too hot for a wetsuit!” Aerith gives her the ‘Chairith’ smile.

Yuffie doesn’t know what that is, so she keeps pushing it, “Maybe Tifa doesn’t want to get a sunburn today.”

“Maybe Tifa wants to be _free_ to wear what she wants. They _do_ sell sunscreen here.”

“Maybe Tifa doesn’t want certain people ogling her.”

“Maybe Tifa _DOES_ want certain people ogling her.”

“….Maybe I just want to go swimming?” Tifa offered.

Aerith and Yuffie stare at her.

“I’m sorry, but… of the two you guys have, I have to pick the red one… It really is too hot to wear a wetsuit… And red is my favorite color… that’s the only red one I see…” Tifa takes it from Aerith, “Plus it’s a third of the price.”

“Oh, come on, who cares about the price?!” Yuffie pouts and looks at the wetsuit.

“Well, we do have to be careful. Cloud was getting concerned after Fort Condor. We spent 10,000 Gil alone on helping them out and then another 4,000 Gil on supplies… Plus all the stuff from Choco Billy… I think he’s happy we didn’t buy anything in Junon, though.” Tifa smiles a bit.

Aerith and Yuffie look at each other wide eyed.

“…You guys bought something in Junon… didn’t you…?”

“Well…” Aerith started, “Just something small.”

“What do you mean… by small?” Tifa puts her hands on her hips.

“Hey, I’m gonna go try this on!” Yuffie takes the wetsuit to the dressing room.

“Aerith… what did you buy in Junon?” Tifa now crosses her arms and stares at Aerith.

“Um…” Aerith slowly turns to Tifa, “You know that nice lady who let us use her house?”

“Yes…”

“Well, she _really_ wanted to see _Loveless_. She just kept talking about it every time we saw her… so we got her tickets.”

“Oh, that’s not so bad…” Tifa thinks for a second, “What kind of tickets did you get her?”

Aerith takes a deep breath, “Box.”

“Like…” blinks a few times, “Like… the ones that have food and alcohol included.”

Aerith stares blankly.

Tifa sighs, “Oh… Aerith…. Did you tell Cloud?”

“No, no… we meant to tell Cloud, but… you know… just haven’t had the chance.”

“Did _all_ of you know about this?”

Aerith gives a look of confirmation to Tifa.

“Why didn’t you just tell us, Aerith?”

“Cloud would have said no, and I thought that woman deserved _something_.”

“ _I_ may not have said no!” Tifa began to think about how to handle this, “How much was everything?”

“7,000 Gil”

“SEVEN THOUSAND?!”

Everybody in the store goes quiet and looks at the two women.

***

It’s hot. Really hot. Much hotter than anything they had to deal with while in Midgar.

Red is playing soccer with some kids in the shade. He actually seems to be enjoying himself. Barret is sweating profusely, but decides he’s going to play soccer too. The kids seem to be having a good time. Barret gets the ball to pass to Red.

He kicks it too hard.

It slams Red in the face.

Red growls and the kids all run off.

“Man, look what you did!” Barret approaches Red.

“ _You’re_ the one that kicked the ball in my face. The kids knew to pass it nicely to my tail.” Red stands up and begins walking away towards the beach.

“Whatever, man. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

***

Yuffie catcalls Tifa as soon as she walks out of the dressing room. A red bikini. Aerith is wearing a pink one piece. She said it _had_ to be pink. She wanted to make sure it matched her bow. Yuffie is wearing a wetsuit for some reason.

“Guys, I dunno…” Tifa feels very… bare…

“You’re wearing more than most of the people in this town!” Aerith chimes in.

“That’s not saying much…”

Yuffie perks up a bit, “You could always wear a wetsuit!”

“No, I’ll pass… I guess once we start doing things I won’t feel as weird about it. Maybe I’ll get one of those cover ups to wear until we get down there. It’ll be cute.”

“That’s the spirit!” Aerith jumps up.

“Oh… are we going to talk to Cloud about the Gil?” Tifa quietly asks, trying not to pull the attention of the entire store on them again.

“Oh, yeah, we can.”

“Okay, good… I’m sure if you just explain it… he’ll be fine.”

***

Cloud decided to go to the Surf Shop to see what was going on. It seemed that nobody in Costa del Sol wore a full set of clothes. Men didn’t wear shirts and women only wore bikinis and the occasional one-piece. He thought for a second that maybe Barret was right and he should try and enjoy the day they were there. He then immediately dismissed it because Barret cannot be right.

He turned in to the Surf Shop and stopped dead in his tracks. Towards the back, near where it seemed there were dressing rooms. Tifa was showing off her red bikini to Yuffie and Aerith. He could feel his face getting very warm and his heart was racing. Aerith just so happens to look towards the door and her eyes grow wide with excitement. Evil, conniving… excitement.

_“…..Hoo…..boy…..”_

***

“Hey, Cloud!” Aerith begins waving towards the entrance. Tifa and Yuffie look over to that direction. Tifa grows visibly nervous and brings her arms up over her stomach.

Cloud is frozen by the entrance. Aerith runs over to him.

“Heya!”

Cloud stares at her with a blank expression on his face.

“What, did your brain stop working or something?” Aerith smiles at him, “Why don’t you come over and help Tifa decide?”

“U-u-hhh… I’m sure it’s fine.” Cloud’s mouth is so dry that he’s not even sure how he got that statement out.

“Oh, don’t be like that.” She grabs his arm, “Come on!”

Yuffie has a stupid grin on her face as Cloud approaches. Tifa is visibly nervous and offers a weak smile to him. Aerith lets go of his arm and goes over to Tifa.

“Soooo? I think it looks amazing!” Aerith is looking at Cloud and has her hands up as if showing Tifa off as a trophy.

_“Think, think, you don’t want to sound bad, you don’t want to sound stupid or weird, you don’t want to make her feel bad. You don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. What if she gets mad at what I say? What if…”_

Tifa takes a breath and looks directly at Cloud. She takes a step back, puts her hands on her hips and says, “So, what do you think?” She tilts her head.

Cloud stares at her and swallows hard, _“What’s worked before… what didn’t make you sound like a moron… what won’t she get mad at…”_

Yuffie is looking over at Aerith and Tifa and then back to Cloud. Back and forth, back and forth.

Cloud takes a deep breath, looks her right in those big, beautiful carmine eyes, “…Beautiful…”

Aerith’s jaw drops. Yuffie is in a similar state.

Tifa turns very red but smiles and looks down. She bites her bottom lip.

“Wow, I didn’t know you had it in you!” Yuffie finally is out of her shock. Cloud has a proud, arrogant smirk on his face even though it’s also incredibly red.

“Thought for sure you’d just pass out on the floor!” Yuffie started laughing and Cloud’s proud, arrogant smirk was replaced with a look of total annoyance towards Yuffie.

“Well you’re just full of surprises, ain’t ya?” Cloud’s eyes widen. Barret is standing behind him and pats his shoulder.

“Anyway, now that we’ve settled _that_ decision…. Cloud, it’s your turn!” Aerith walks back over to him and Barret.

“…For what?”

“Your swimsuit, silly!”

“I don’t swim.”

“Sure you do!”

Cloud sighs and crosses his arms and looks away from everyone.

“I think it’ll be fun.” He looks up. Tifa. Dammit. Tifa said that. She’s got the eyes. The special eyes with an extra sparkle in them. The puppy dog eyes. The ‘please’ eyes. The ‘promise me’ eyes.

Cloud taps his fingers on his arm a bit and finally sighs and uncrosses his arms.

He turns away from them and sighs, “Let’s get this over with…. But… I’m not wearing anything weird.”

“Of course you aren’t! I already have something picked out!” Aerith holds a pair of very normal red trunks up and hands them to him. Tifa opens her mouth to say something but then shuts it again. Cloud looks at them and sighs but walks toward the dressing rooms.

“What about me?” Barret asks.

“Well… the only thing they had that we thought might fit is…” Tifa looks at Barret and holds up something, “This…”

Tifa holds up a one-piece, classic men’s swimsuit with green and white stripes.

“What the hell is that?” Barret looks at her like she’s crazy.

“It’s a classic swimsuit, like they used to wear a long time ago.”

Yuffie has fallen to the floor.

“Are you sure there’s _nothing_ else here? You’re telling me they don’t have just trunks?”

“They have bikini briefs?” Aerith pulls one off a rack and shows him.

Barret grabs the full body swimsuit from Tifa and storms to the dressing room.

Cloud emerges with red swim trunks on… and his normal shirt. He also has his sword on.

“No.” Aerith just says sternly.

“What do you mean, ‘No’?” Cloud gives her a challenging look. He’s going to be stubborn.

“You can’t wear that! You look ridiculous!”

“I’m wearing a shirt. So, either find me another shirt or I’m wearing this one.” Cloud is holding strong.

Tifa turns to a shelf and pulls off a white t-shirt.

“How about this?” She shows him. He looks at her, grabs it and turns back to the dressing room.

“And no sword!” Aerith yells after him.

***

Cloud won his shirt battle partially. He has a plain white t-shirt on, but still a shirt. He did lose the sword battle. Yuffie, Aerith and Tifa brought back their equipment to put in the inn, so it’s safe… and so Cloud couldn’t use it. Cloud also lost the shoes battle. He was just going to wear his boots, but those were taken so he had no choice but to pick up flip flops. He decided to also buy a pair of sunglasses, because that was probably the safest thing to do in the situation he was being presented with.

The three women come back to wait for Cloud and Barret to get through the checkout line. They’re chatting off to the side about what types of drinks they may have in this town. Tifa did buy a beach swimsuit coverup that’s white and somewhat see through.

Barret looks almost as ridiculous as he did in the sailor suit. This swimsuit even has a flap on the back. They have some beach songs playing in the store and he’s dancing a little bit. He even starts to hum and sing along.

“Round, round, get around I get around, yeah, get around woooo ooooo…”

Cloud looks over at him, “Hey, Barret?”

Barret stops singing, but keeps dancing a bit, “What?”

“Who sings this song?”

Barret perks up thinking Cloud is actually interested, “The del Sol Boys!” He starts singing again.

“Let’s keep it that way.”

"You're cold, man. Real cold."

***

There are certain sounds and noises that can cause a man to panic and go back to a bad place. For Cloud Strife, there are many things, but only few are more horrifying in his recent history as…

_“ **BROOOO!!!!!”**_

Cloud’s eyes go as wide as they can go. He begins to look for ways to escape… but he can’t… because Tifa is in a bikini and Johnny is coming. He has to make the sacrifice and… deal with Johnny.

Cloud looks up to see a very tan, maroon haired moron bolting towards him at an impossible speed. Johnny does not appear to wear shirts at all anymore.

“Hey, Johnny!” Tifa seems happy to see her old friend.

“Tifa, you look amazing! As always…” Johnny looks over at Cloud, who, wearing sunglasses, has lost his death stare ability, so chooses to cross his arms and scowl instead.

“Bro, it’s so good to see you!”

“How many times have I told you not to call me that?”

“Bro, bro, chill. Why do you have a shirt on? Nobody wears shirts, you should take your shirt off!” Johnny flexes a bit.

“Maybe you should put a shirt _on._ ” Cloud continues to stare at him.

“Haha, that’s funny! Why would I do that?” Johnny is asking this seriously.

Cloud sighs.

“So, what brings you to Costa del Sol, Johnny?” Tifa is genuinely interested, it seems.

“Well, after I left Midgar, I travelled around a bit. Found myself a girl. We’re engaged. Her name is Tiffany. My Tiffany!”

 _“Of course her name is Tiffany…”_ Cloud thought, _“Wait, did he say engaged? This guy is engaged?”_

“Oh, that’s great, Johnny!” Tifa looks over at Cloud to react.

Cloud sighs, “Cool.”

“That’s right it’s cool! What brings you here, bro?”

Cloud grumbles a bit, “Just passing through.”

“Cool! Let’s go to the bar!” Johnny takes off towards the bar. Cloud looks at Tifa who shrugs and walks towards the bar. Aerith, Barret, and Yuffie slip down to the beach. Cloud sighs and follows Tifa.

***

The Costa del Sol bar is a typical resort bar. Everything is expensive. Everybody is half naked. There’s karaoke and terrible singing.

“This place is great! I know the owner. He’s a cool guy. My fiancé works here sometimes. The quesadilla are really good. Bro, check this out!” Johnny starts showing Cloud things in the menu.

Cloud is trying to process the number of subjects that Johnny jumped to in less than 15 seconds. Something about the owner, his fiancé and a quesadilla. Nothing he really wants to know about…

“Too bad you guys won’t be here longer. We coulda gone on a double date tonight!” Johnny looks at them both. Cloud chokes on his drink. Tifa blushes a bit.

“O-oh we’re not…” Tifa starts. Cloud can’t say anything. He doesn’t know what to say. He thought about putting his sunglasses on inside.

“Ohhh… I thought because you guys had on matching bathing suits, you know?” Johnny looked at their attire.

 _“I was waiting for somebody to comment on that… I’m now pretty sure Aerith picked these out on purpose…”_ Cloud took a few gulps of his drink.

“Our friend picked them out for us. She has good taste, so I thought it was a good idea.” Tifa smiled and swirled her glass around on the table.

“As determined as Bro was to get you out of the Don’s mansion… lot of passion behind that….so….” Cloud shot Johnny a stare that should have killed him instantly.

Tifa looked over at Cloud, “Cloud did go through _a lot_ of trouble to get me out of there…”

Cloud gave Tifa a pleading look not to bring _that_ up.

“Yeah, he just walked up to those dudes and got in there and saved you like… man… it’s so cool.” Johnny was shaking his head in awe.

_“He doesn’t know… I’m so glad he doesn’t know…”_

“Y-yeah, pretty much!” Tifa smiled at this memory…

Cloud gave Tifa a look that she knew was him thanking her.

“I mean, any guy who will dance like that and dress up as a woman _really_ has passion and determination behind their task.” Cloud wanted to sink away from existence.

_“Oh no.. he knows…. He was there… Oh no….”_

“Dance?!” Tifa looked over at Cloud with a shocked look on her face. Cloud refused to look back at her. He was still trying to figure out if there was a way to disappear instantly into a crack in the floor.

“Yeah, Andrea said it was one of the best shows they ever did. Cloud was a natural!” Johnny really thought this was a good conversation to have. Cloud was thinking of different ways that you could murder a person and never have them found.

“You danced with _Andrea Rhodea_?!” Tifa looked like she was in awe of this.

He slowly looked at her, “Uh……. Well you did pull-ups with him…” The drink was helping to blunt this total embarrassment.

“So _that’s_ how he knew you!” Tifa sat back and laughed a bit, “I was wondering why he was so friendly towards you…”

“He’s the reason I got into the mansion, honestly.”

“So, you danced and dressed up like a woman to get me out of there, huh?”

“Partially… I also wasn’t going to let Aerith go in there by herself…” Cloud thought for a second, “If I knew what Don Corneo’s mansion was, I also wouldn’t have let you go, no matter what you said.”

Tifa looked at him a bit surprised, “I wasn’t sure if you knew who he was… so I didn’t know if you were going to jump off the Chocobo cart or not… and you made the right call about Aerith.”

“Huh?”

“If you had her come in after me on her own, I probably would have kicked your ass and thrown you out of a window.” Tifa smiled at him. An evil smile. She’s hanging out with Aerith too much.

“I would have let you.” Cloud took another drink.

“Bro, trust me, you do _not_ want Tifa to kick you…” Johnny shuddered.

“ _Maybe_ you shouldn’t have been talking so much.” Tifa pointed at Johnny.

Cloud almost laughed at that memory. Tifa walked up and kicked Johnny right in the stomach to stop him from talking when Shinra was questioning him.

“Well that’s quite a smile. Haven’t seen one that big since the item shop owner told you his stock got ruined…” Tifa was teasing him. She must be loosening up from the drink.

“It was funny.” Cloud didn’t totally stop smiling, but he moved back to the standard sized Cloud smile.

“You didn’t laugh at the time.” Tifa raised an eyebrow.

“I was in shock. And scared that if I did, you’d turn around and kick me.”

“Oh, you were scared?”

“Maybe a little.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Tifa was enjoying this now.

“Humor at my expense. I’m hurt, Bro. I’m hurt.” Johnny held his hand to his heart and acted as if he were devastated.

The three continued to sip their drinks. Cloud was somewhat enjoying this. It had to be the drink. Or the fact that Tifa teased him. Maybe it was a mix.

Johnny and Tifa were talking about random times at Seventh Heaven from the past. Crazy patrons, nights that Barret had to throw patrons out. He would pick them up and throw them. They would measure how far he’d get each time. There was a book with the stats… that was now buried under the rubble.

Tifa did say to Cloud in Kalm that she felt like she only ever remembered the bad. He was glad she was talking about good memories from Sector 7. He wished he could do that… he doesn’t remember much about Nibelheim except… well… very few things. He remembers the night at the water tower… how could he forget it? He spent some time in Sector 7, but it was all merc work. Nothing that she’d probably find memorable…

“Cloud?” Tifa broke Cloud out of his silent musings.

“Huh?”

“I was just saying, we should probably go find the others. I do actually want to use this bathing suit, you know?” She patted his arm as she stood up.

“Right.”

“It was so cool seeing you Bro, Tifa. You should come back soon so we can do that date!”

Cloud closed his eyes and sighed. Calls him bro, says he’s going on a date with Tifa. Can this guy get any closer to Cloud murdering him?

“Okay, Johnny. We’ll see you later!” Tifa began walking out.

 _“…She didn’t say no…”_ Cloud followed after Tifa.

***

Aerith, Barret, and Red were enjoying the water. Red was relieved he found a way to stay cool now. 

“Where did Yuffie go?” Red looked around.

“Not sure, she said she needed to get something from the Inn.” Aerith shrugged.

“Barret was on his back attempting to stay balanced. His right side kept sinking down due to the heavy machinery attached to it. He eventually gave up and decided to just sit in the shallow section. He was almost pouting.

The hair on Red’s back stood and he tensed up.

“What’s wrong?” Aerith looked to where he was looking.

“Hojo.” Red growled.

“What?!” Barret stood and turned.

Sure enough, there was Hojo surrounded by bikini clad babes and… he had his lab coat on.

“What is he doing here?” Aerith was disgusted by him.

“Looks like he’s on vacation.” Barret shook his gun arm out to try and get any water out of it.

“Maybe we should call Cloud…” Aerith started to head back to their stuff on the beach.

***

Cloud and Tifa left the bar to head down to the beach. As they get close to the Inn, they see a small Materia stand… and Yuffie working there.

Tifa walked up to the stand, “Yuffie?”

“Hello, welcome to Materia Bliss!” Yuffie was very enthusiastic about her greeting.

“Are you working here?”

“Yup!”

“You do know we’re not staying here, right?” Cloud was confused why she’d get a job while they were staying here for – at most – a day.

“Oh, you know, figured I’d contribute to the team and make some money.” She laughed nervously.

Tifa and Cloud looked at each other and back to Yuffie.

“So… are you just not going to show up to work after tomorrow or… are you not coming with us anymore?” Tifa sounded a bit hurt… Cloud looked at her.

_“I guess she’s friends with her now…”_

“Oh! I’m not coming back. I’m _definitely_ going with you guys. The man who owns this place is ew.”

Tifa smiled. Cloud’s PHS rings.

He looks at it and then to Tifa.

“It’s Aerith……” he picks it up, “Hello?”

Tifa can hear a muffled Aerith through the phone, “Cloud, you should get to the beach… Hojo is here…”

Tifa and Cloud look at each other.

“We’ll be right there.” Cloud hangs up.

“What’s he doing here?” Tifa really was hoping they didn’t have to run in to him again. He gave her a really bad, sinking feeling.

***

Aerith put the PHS down and looked to Barret and Red, “He said they’ll be here.”

“What should we say to him?” Barret kept looking behind him like the scientist was going to disappear.

“I don’t know…” Aerith was looking down. Hojo bothered her. Bad. He is the reason her mother was gone… and…

“Aerith!” Tifa was running towards them with Cloud close behind, “What’s going on?”

“Hojo is here… over there.” Aerith points towards where the bikini clad women are surrounding Hojo.

“What should we do?” Tifa and Aerith look back to Cloud. He’s just staring over towards Hojo and then he walks towards him. Barret and Red follow immediately.

“I guess we’re talking to him…” Tifa looks over to Aerith and they sigh and follow the other three.

Cloud approaches the group.

“Oh, hi there, sweetie…” one of the bikini girls says and gives Cloud a kissy face. He shoots her a dirty look and she looks offended.

“Who is bothering us?” Hojo sits up and spots Cloud. He sighs, “What are you doing here?”

“I should be asking _you_ that.” Barret moves towards him.

“Clearly I’m trying to get a tan.”

Cloud and Barret look at each other, since Hojo has a lab coat on….

At this point, Aerith walks up and has a very serious look on her face, “Seems strange that you suddenly aren’t working…”

“Well, if you must know, I’ve retired.” Hojo now stands, “You’ve ruined the mood.”

“No, Professor! Please come back, sexy!” the bikini women reach out for him.

“I’m sorry, ladies… these heathens have ruined my tanning mood. Please, don’t call me.” He begins to walk away and then diverts towards Aerith.

Aerith’s eyes widen a bit as he whispers something to her and walks away.

“What was that?” Cloud looks at Aerith.

“He said to head west… if we want to know more…” Aerith felt unsettled at this…

“That’s towards Corel…” Barret trailed off a bit and then walked off.

“I guess we should follow what he’s saying…” Tifa had her arms over her stomach and was looking down.

“Yeah…” Cloud looked off towards Hojo and didn’t stop until he was out of sight.

The group walked back to the setup that Barret, Red, and Aerith had.

“I don’t want this to ruin the mood – let’s just enjoy the last bit of the day!” Aerith had suddenly jumped up and pushed any sadness behind her.

Tifa seemed happy about this. She wanted to go swimming, wanted to enjoy it, but didn’t want the others to think she was being selfish or uncaring. She smiled warmly at Aerith.

Cloud was staring at her and had to hold back a smile of his own. He loved these sunglasses. Nobody could tell who or what he was looking at… Maybe he should keep them.

***

After a few hours, the party headed back to the inn. Barret, Red, and Cloud finally got their own beds. Barret was the happiest he’s been in a long time. He stretched and rolled all over the bed like a kid.

“Be careful, you might break it.” Cloud put his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. Barret stopped rolling around and looked at Cloud and a smile crept over his face.

“You gonna be able to sleep tonight without Tifa to keep you safe and warm?” Barret and Red started laughing. Cloud turned red and rolled away from them.

“You guys are hilarious.” Cloud said dryly and closed his eyes.

“Heh, a part of me is serious.” Barret looked over at Red who huffed out a small laugh.

Cloud’s eyes opened. He contemplated on what to say, but decided to just pretend to be asleep, _“You hadn’t slept that good in a long time… It was nice, wasn’t it? To have Tifa that close to you?”_ Cloud’s eyes shot open. He shut them hard to try and get the voice to stop. Why is this happening?

***

The girls were each in a bed and laughing about the beach day they had. Even after Hojo, they were able to enjoy themselves. They played volleyball, drank a few drinks, made fun of Barret and Cloud for bumping into each other during volleyball and Cloud falling on top of him, and just enjoying each other’s company.

Yuffie passed out after a while. She seemed very happy from whatever happened at her job today.

Aerith stretched out on the bed and sighed, “This is nice. I think I miss sharing the bed, though with you ladies. It was nice…”

Tifa smiled, “Yeah, it was…”

Aerith rolled over towards Tifa and propped herself up, “How was it sleeping next to Cloud?”

Tifa turned red and looked at Aerith, “Not as good as sleeping next to you.” She smiled at her and laughed.

“Well, duh! I didn’t expect it to be as good as _that_ , but… how was it?” Aerith now was giving her evil genius smile to Tifa.

Tifa smiled a bit, “…It was nice… I… I don’t know, I guess it was nice.”

Aerith sighed like she was watching a romance movie and smiling like an idiot.

“What?”

“It’s just nice to see cute moments like that, that’s all.”

“…How long were you guys watching us that morning?”

“16 minutes and 27 seconds.”

Tifa’s eyes widened and she stared at Aerith.

“I mean… I wasn’t keeping track…. I’m just guessing….” Aerith laughed and then Tifa started laughing.

“Thank you…”

Aerith looked at Tifa and tilted her head, “For what?”

“Just… being you… being here…”

“Aww! Tifa! I should be thanking you! You’re the best bodyguard I’ve ever had!”

Both girls started laughing hysterically.

The laugher, the sun, and the drinks finally got to them and they slipped off to sleep…

***

_It was raining again. It’s been raining a lot lately._

_Aerith was picking out dead leaves and other debris from the flowers. The Sector 5 church had a hole in the roof near the side of the building where her handsome knight had fallen through. Rain was trickling in._

_The handsome knight who she hadn’t heard from in over four years. Sometimes she would try to tell herself that maybe he found someone else or that he just decided to live somewhere else. Something told her that wasn’t right … She wrote her final letter to him. It was letter 89. She didn’t even know if he’d gotten the other 88. Every two weeks… she’d write to him, until her heart couldn’t take it anymore._

_Sighing, she began to gather her things from around the flower bed, daydreaming about what could have been… She needed to get home soon. Her mom would worry if she stayed there too long…_

_“Aerith…”_

_Aerith froze and gasped. Tears started falling and her heart was pounding. She turned to the voice. Her voice failed her, so she just ran to him and he took her into his arms._

_Sobbing she was able to say his name, finally, “Zack…”_

_“I know… I’m sorry… A lot has happened…” He’s holding her, caressing the back of her head and enjoying the smell of her. He’s missed this for so long. There’s so much to talk about. So much to catch up on. How was the flower business going? What has she been up to? Does she hate him?_

_She pulls back from him and looks in his vibrant blue eyes. He wipes her tears away._

_“You still have the bow…” He smiles at her, “And you’re wearing pink!”_

_Aerith gets her wits about her, but still smiling and crying a bit, “Oh you… Maybe it’s not for you…”_

_Zack lets out a hearty laugh, “I see you’re still as silly as you were before…”_

_Aerith catches something out of the corner of her eye on one of the pews. A young boy slumped over with spiky blonde hair._

_“Zack… who’s that?”_

_Zack walked over to Cloud and placed a hand on his shoulder, “This is Cloud… Aerith…” he took a breath, “We need to get him and me somewhere out of sight…”_

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

_Elmyra was preparing a meal for three people, now. Her lips were pursed, but she couldn’t help but see how happy Aerith was. Zack was back suddenly. Where the hell had he been for the past four years? Or was it longer? This boy broke her daughter’s heart, she wasn’t going to let it go that easily…_

_“Mrs. Gainsborough… thank you so much for letting us come here…” Zack smiled and sighed in relief._

_“I wasn’t going to let a sick man stay on the streets… Do you have him in the guest room?” Elmyra turned to him and Aerith._

_“Yes, probably the most comfortable he’s been in… a very long time…” Zack trailed off a bit._

_Elmyra looked at him sternly and turned back to her cooking, “Dinner will be ready in 20 minutes.”_

_This was their cue to get out of the kitchen._

_“Let’s go out to the flowers. It stopped raining.” Zack smiled over at Aerith and she nodded excitedly._

_The two walked out and Zack takes a few deep breaths to take in the unique smell that is Aerith and Elmyra’s house… Midgar slums and flowers. More flowers, luckily._

_“Aerith, I’m so sorry… Trust me… If I could have contacted you, I would have…”_

_“It’s okay, Zack… but… why couldn’t you contact me?”_

_“Cloud and I…” Zack sighed, “Do you want to hear what happened? It’s kind of…”_

_“Of course I do!” Aerith was concerned with how he asked that._

_“Okay, I’m gonna throw it all out as quick as I can, because I don’t want your mom to come out here and hit me with a spoon for being late to dinner…”_

_“Okay… should we sit down?” Zack nodded and they both sat on a nearby patch of grass._

_“Cloud and I were in Nibelheim five years ago… that’s the assignment I was sent on. It was a nice town… Pretty much what you’d expect from a reactor town, honestly. It was supposed to be a routine inspection. There was a lot of monsters showing up in town. Nothing too exciting…_

_While we were there, some weird stuff was happening. Monsters were definitely coming from the reactor… and there were these tanks with… well I guess they used to be people, inside… I’d never seen them in the Gongaga reactor… Sephiroth started to get… depressed… is the only way I can describe it._

_He spent what seemed like days in the Shinra mansion looking at books and documents… Then he snapped.”_

_“Snapped?”_

_“He burned the town down, killed anybody in sight, and… he almost killed me…”_

_Aerith gasped._

_“Sephiroth found out something about himself that completely ruined him… He didn’t care about human life anymore. He kept saying ‘Mother’ whenever he was near the Jenova chamber._

_I confronted him. He’d killed the mayor in the reactor. His daughter came in and must have tried to fight him. She was severely injured and laying there when I got there… He just was so powerful. More powerful than I can remember him being. He threw me out of that room with such force. I was going in and out of consciousness.”_

_Aerith was looking down at her hands. Was she praying?_

_“Aerith, are you okay?” He gently put his hand on her back._

_“Yes… It’s just… I remember hearing five years ago that Sephiroth had been killed in action. I wasn’t aware that…”_

_“I didn’t kill him… I’m still trying to figure out how he died. I was so out of it. I know Cloud showed up at one point and I said, ‘Cloud, kill Sephiroth.’ But I really was in and out. Cloud went into some trance when he saw the mayor’s daughter - Tifa was her name - at the bottom of the stairs. I know he injured him. I remember seeing Cloud pick Tifa up and move her out of the way, but then Sephiroth emerged and walked out.”_

_“So, is he dead?”_

_“Official records say he is… He did have a fatal wound. He had a huge hole in his abdomen… The fact that he could walk at all after that is impressive… but he walked out of there…”_

_Zack sighed, “Next thing I knew, I was in a mako tank and had that nutcase Hojo staring in at me…”_

_Aerith gasped and looked over at Zack. Hojo… the head of R &D at Shinra._

_“Do you know Hojo?”_

_“Yes… he’s a terrible human being…”_

_“Well I saw that firsthand… he used Cloud and I for experiments. I didn’t have any reaction, but Cloud… The reason he’s in the state he’s in is from all of the things Hojo did to him to see what would happen. He’s severely mako addicted. He just can’t tolerate it, but Hojo doesn’t care. He just keeps going and going until an experiment dies… I couldn’t take it. I had to break out, but I had to plan it just right…_

_I broke us out and then journeyed across the world back to Midgar. I had to carry him most of the way… Then of course I ran in to the army. Had to take them all out.”_

_Zack sighed and laid back in the grass with his hands behind his head, “And here I am!”_

_“You say that like you didn’t just tell me a horrific story!” she slapped him on the chest and did seem a bit upset._

_“What matters is… we’re not there anymore.” He sat up and looked at her with a warm smile, “What matters is that I’m back here with you.”_

_Aerith smiled and started to lean towards him…_

_“Aerith! Dinner is ready!” The two jump back from each other._

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

_The three ate dinner and had short, casual conversation. Zack told Elmyra that he had been captured by the Wutai army. Aerith thought it’d be best to keep all of the really scary stuff out of the conversation._

_The TV was on in the background. Zack would glance up every so often to see what was on. He missed normal life after being either stuck in a mako tank or on the run. He hated normal life at one point – but maybe Aerith was right about “normal is best”… At least in some situations._

_“Come on down to Sector 7’s best Bar and Grill, Seventh Heaven! And don’t forget to Have a Nice Day!”_

_The advertisement came on and showed the inside of the bar, people eating, and a bartender mixing drinks. A bartender that looked very, very familiar._

_Zack choked on the food he was eating._

_“Are you okay?” Aerith looked over at Zack. Elmyra also froze._

_“That was Tifa!”_

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

_Aerith and Zack agreed to go to Sector 7 the next day. Zack stayed in the room with Cloud to make sure he was okay. He was having a hard time sleeping. Tifa was alive. At least… he’s pretty sure that was Tifa. He needed to tell her about Cloud. The two dorks had a thing for each other, but this was more to see if she could help them. Cloud was really sick. Zack feared he’d never come out of this stupor he was in. He was afraid he was going to die… Cloud was, without a doubt, his best friend. He needed him to get better._

_The next morning, close to Seventh Heaven’s opening time, Zack and Aerith made their way to Sector 7. Aerith excitedly showed Zack the “shortcut” to Sector 7 to avoid Wall Market. They needed to do all kinds of crazy stuff to get through there. Robot arms, fight off really stupid bandits…_

_And Aerith could fight! She’d been using Materia more often and even had a staff. It was impressive!_

_Zack promised Aerith that when they got back he’d help around Sector 5. He missed the kids and he’s sure they had plenty to tell him. The women at the Leaf House spotted him walking along with Aerith and were really happy to see him back. Lots of people around the Sector 5 slums got to know Zack five years ago. It was like coming home almost._

_“The park!” Zack looked around “It looks the same as it did the last time we were here…”_

_Aerith nodded, “Let’s take a break, shall we?”_

_“Gladly!”_

_Zack and Aerith climbed to the top of the Mog slide and he stretched his arms over his head and landed one on Aerith’s shoulders._

_“So smooth…” Aerith started laughing._

_“I know, you don’t need to tell me.” Zack gave her a big smile._

_Aerith looked up at a Stamp advertisement, “Why do I feel like he was a beagle?”_

_Zack looked at her and then to the advertisement, then laughed, “He’s always looked like that. Like a scruffy dog.”_

_Aerith looked at it longer and shook her head of the thought. Weird._

_“Maybe it’s the fairies.” Zack started laughing._

_“The fairies?” Aerith looked at him._

_“Yeah, you ever feel like somebody else is in your head – like the fairies?”_

_“I think you may have had a reaction to the mako…” Both of them laugh._

_The two sat and caught up a bit._

_“We’ll get to Sector 7 in style! I have a secret way in…”_

_“You’re so resourceful! How’d you figure all this out?”_

_“Well, I wanted to be ready for when you got back and I had to show you around again!”_

_Zack let out a hearty laugh, “Fair enough!”_

_They emerged in the Sector 7 slums. It was different than Sector 5, for sure. There were on plants, no flowers. The diamond in the rough was Seventh Heaven. It looked like a bar that should be top side. It was well taken care of._

_“So… this is Seventh Heaven…” Aerith looked up at the sign._

_“I really hope Tifa is working today… I don’t know where else to look for her if she’s not… And I doubt they’ll tell me where she lives.”_

_“No, but they may tell me. I can say I’m her best friend or sister or something like that and that we had an emergency…”_

_“You’re too smart.”_

_They didn’t have to use any of their sly tactics. Tifa was behind the bar with her back turned to the door. The bell rang to alert her to somebody entering and she turned. Her smile was warm and slowly transformed into the face of a person who had just seen a ghost._

_Tifa gasped, “You’re………”_

_The bar had just opened. No other patrons were inside. Zack and Aerith walked over to Tifa quickly._

_“I am… So, you do remember me.”_

_Tifa wasn’t smiling. She was stone faced and flushed. Her breathing was heavy, “You can’t tell anybody I’m from Nibelheim… please…” Tifa looked at both Aerith and Zack._

_“I won’t…” Zack looked her in the eye and Aerith nodded sternly, “Tifa… I need your help. Cloud is really sick.”_

_“Cloud?!”_

_“Yes, Cloud… I need you to come with us. We have him at Aerith’s mom’s house.”_

_Tifa looked around, “I… Let me call somebody, one moment.”_

_Tifa walked towards the back. They could hear her begging the person to get there quickly, that she had an emergency. She walked back over to them._

_“I’m coming now… somebody will be here soon. I’m just going to lock everything up…” Tifa was rushing around collecting things, locking cabinets and doors._

_A large man with what appeared to be a gun on his arm entered the bar. He eyed up Zack and Aerith and then gestured for Tifa to come over to him. They talked for a bit and he nodded. They heard her say, “I’ll tell you later…”_

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

_Aerith and Zack brought Tifa to Elmyra’s house. Aerith could tell the girl was nervous as they were slowly walking up the stairs._

_“Are you okay?” She took her hands and gave her a warm smile._

_Tifa smiled back, “I think so… I just… Didn’t know anybody from my town was still alive…”_

_Zack shifted uncomfortably… What if Cloud didn’t make it? Was this a mistake? Will it cause her more pain to know him and watch him die?_

_They approached the door to the guest room._

_“Go on… he’s in there.” Aerith gave her another encouraging smile._

_Tifa opened the door and Cloud was laying on the bed. His eyes would open a bit and then close. She slowly walked up to the bed._

_She placed her hand on his cheek, “…Cloud?”_

_Cloud opened his eyes, “T-Tifa?!”_

_Zack’s eyes grew wide._

***

Aerith sat straight up and inhaled deeply. Sweat was pouring down her face… and so were tears. Her heart was pounding.

“…..Zack…..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed. I had to figure out a way to get the second timeline in without spoiling Cloud's thing too much. Having Zack and Aerith do the same things that Cloud and her did in Chapter 8 felt right and like something they'd do.  
> Also the tension between Cloud and Tifa is starting to kill me. I cannot wait to get to a chapter where I can do something about it. Even if it's something mild... just to take the edge off.


	4. Don't Stop Me Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, Yuffie.” Aerith looks, “Whatcha lookin’ at?”  
> “These stupid Plushies.”  
> “Oh, why are they stupid?”  
> “Oh man you never heard about the fights these things caused?” Yuffie started laughing.  
> “The Plushies caused a fight?” Tifa looked at Yuffie and then over to Aerith.   
> ***  
> “I didn’t know you like riding Chocobos so much.” Cloud glanced at her.  
> “Well, I’ve always wanted to try the races here… I remember seeing them on TV when we were kids. The lights, the courses, they look so amazing!” Tifa was giddy, “Plus, Chocobos are cute.”  
> “Do you know how to race Chocobos?” Ester chimed in.  
> “Well, I know how to ride one.” Tifa looked over at Cloud, “What’s the difference?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this starts off angsty. Stays a little angsty, you get some cute, then the end is... dripping with our favorite subject.

Aerith stared out at on the horizon as the sun was setting. They were close to North Corel. Cloud, Tifa, and Barret were working on getting the draw bridge down to allow everyone to cross. Yuffie was playing with Materia and Red was taking a break and enjoying the gentle breeze.

She couldn’t stop thinking about the dream… if it even was a dream. It was so _real._ She _felt_ him. She felt the emotion. His embrace. She could smell him. That masculine, minty, Zack smell. This wasn’t a normal dream… She’s had plenty of dreams. She’s gone to people in her dreams to talk to them. She went to Cloud when she was in the Shinra building…

Talking to Cloud that night was to warn him not to get attached to her. She doesn’t want any of them attached to her, but at the time, really only had a connection to Cloud. She knows that her responsibility to the Planet is too great… that the risk is too high… The way it came out, though… Not to fall in love with her… Wasn’t exactly how she wanted it presented, but she didn’t know any other way to say it without impact. His reaction was funny, she had to admit.

He’s never asked her about it. Never has brought it up once. She questions if he’s a person who doesn’t remember his dreams… Or he doesn’t feel comfortable bringing it up. She feared that he’d take what she said wrong. That he’d think she was inferring that she assumed he’d fallen in love with her already in a romantic sense… Silly.

She knows, though, that he can’t… He’s not capable of it for various reasons. The reasons she’s been warned about through the odd things the Planet sometimes tells her, by the way he has moments where something just isn’t right, and, of course, by the way he _truly_ feels about the woman who she feels is her best friend. Her only best friend.

She cares about Cloud. A lot. She thought at first maybe she had feelings for him but dismissed them. It was too similar to Zack. Deep down she knew that she was looking to replace what she had. That wouldn’t be fair to Cloud. As she got to know him, he softened up to her. Then she met Tifa and knew why he was so awkward when he talked about her. And… if the experience she had was correct… Zack and Cloud were best friends…

The night she went to Cloud to try and divert his attention away from saving her, he looked at the house. A lot. Aerith hoped that he was looking at the house for Tifa. That his subconscious was setting his attention to the correct target.

He asked her if he got any say in all of this. A silly question. He does, and he’s already chosen… He just doesn’t realize it, even if sometimes she has hope that maybe he is being a little less dense... She touched his face. She knows he didn’t feel it… Not like she felt Zack. Cloud is very different from Zack. He almost looked irritated when she touched his face. Zack always loved affection.

The interaction with Cloud was different – in every way – from what happened with Zack. In dreams where she talks to people, the sky always looks weird. The atmosphere feels weird – like a very intense lucid dream. Usually the person she’s visiting isn’t lucid, but she is. She can control what she says and does, but physically isn’t really there…

No, the “dream” with Zack last night was different. She felt like she was actually there. She could feel the air, smell the slums, see slivers of a normal sky through the gaps in the plate, feel him put his arm around her… Zack was just how she remembered him, even if he was more paranoid. She couldn’t blame him. He was on the run from the Shinra army.

So, what was this? If it wasn’t a dream…

The draw bridge started to go down.

***

“Got it.” Cloud emerged from the small switch station.

Tifa looked around, “Do you hear that?”

Chirping.

“Up there, I think…” Barret put a hand over his eyes to block the sun.

“Where’s your sunglasses?” Cloud asked, pretending not to know what happened to his sunglasses.

Barret shot him a dirty look.

Barret’s sunglasses had fallen down when they were crossing the _really_ old bridge to North Corel. The way he acted, Cloud felt like they should have had funeral services. It didn’t help that Yuffie started laughing and almost fell herself.

The three of them climbed up the side of the cliff and spotted a Chocobo nest.

“Haeey Baeeby!!” Barret activated the new dad voice.

Tifa and Cloud looked at him, amused.

Tifa begins to laugh, “Oh, Cloud, your hair looks like a Chocobo!”

He looks at her with an amused look on his face and blushes, “Is that… a compliment?”

“Maybe.” She smiles at him and looks back to the nest.

_“She’s teasing me again…”_

“There’s something shiny there…” Tifa points to the right side of the nest.

Cloud thought about it.

“Let’s leave it… I don’t think we should disturb the nest.” Cloud finally decided.

“That’s really admirable of you, Cloud…” she smiled at him.

“Haaeeeyyy!” Barret continued with his new dad voice.

Cloud and Tifa went down first. Barret finally came down.

“Those were just too cute…” Barret looked back up towards the nest.

Tifa smiled and looked up as well, “We should get going. The others are waiting.”

***

North Corel had been destroyed at one point. There were shacks and tents that people were clearly using as homes. This was worse than anything in the slums. Tifa couldn’t help but wonder what Nibelheim looked like… A town that had been destroyed… The survivors pick up what they can and stay in their home… With Nibelheim… were there any survivors aside from her and Cloud?

“Wait here…” Barret put his hand up to signal to the party to wait at the entrance of the town.

Barret walked forward.

“Well, well… Can’t believe you’re showing your piece of shit traitorous face here!”

Everyone looked at each other trying to figure out what was going on. Then, they saw Barret get punched right in the jaw. Cloud tensed up and Tifa started running forward.

“Tifa!” He followed after, as did Red, Aerith, and Yuffie. Aerith pocketed 6 Gil from them.

“Thought I told you to stay back..” Barret said to Tifa when she approached him.

“What happened?” She asked him.

“I deserve it… Don’t worry about it.” Barret shook his head and rubbed his jaw, “We’re here to figure out how to get West, right?”

“Yeah…” Cloud was looking around to make sure nobody else was going to come punch anybody.

“Gold Saucer. Let’s go.”

“Huh?” Tifa looked at the others.

“The Gold Saucer will have something… Lot of people there that know things.” Barret explained.

Aerith perked up, “Isn’t the Gold Saucer like an amusement park?”

“Yeah, but we ain’t going to play no games.” Barret walked off.

Aerith frowned.

“Don’t let it bother you…” Tifa put her hand on Aerith’s shoulder and offered a weak smile, “He gets like this sometimes when he’s upset… He doesn’t mean anything by it…”

Aerith smiled at Tifa and then looked towards Barret.

They were getting dirty looks from every person in the town. Guilty by association, it seems. They made their way to the Rail Station. They could see lights and fireworks from their position. The Gold Saucer was up very high over quicksand.

“Hey, Barret…” Tifa slowly walked over to him. His back was to the group, “Are you okay?”

He sighed, “Yeah… yeah… just… I screwed up. I’m the reason this town is rubble and ash.”

“What do you mean?” Aerith asked.

“I… agreed to let Shinra build the reactor here… Fought my best friend on it… He was right. It was a bad idea… but that… that stupid bitch Scarlet… cackling away, convincing everybody how great it would be to have Mako energy… Gahhhhh!” Barret walked over and punched the vending machine. A few potions fell out.

Yuffie sighed and walked on to the cable car. Red followed her.

Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith walked over to Barret.

“Barret… you can’t blame yourself… You couldn’t have been the only one making that decision.” Tifa offered and placed her hand on his arm.

“I was the tie breaker. The last vote that would break the tie… If I woulda listened to him… Probably wouldn’t have happened.”

Aerith walked a bit closer, “Did the reactor explode?”

“No… There was an accident at the reactor. Shinra blamed the people in the town… so they burned it down.”

All three looked down.

“Yeah… that’s why when I heard about you and Cloud’s home… hit me hard. Knew how you felt.”

Cloud looked up, “Seems we have more in common than I thought…”

Barret finally cracked a small smile, “Psh, I don’t know about that.”

Tifa smiled at Cloud, a smile that thanked him for caring.

“Barret, I want you to know… we’re all here for you.” Aerith took his hand, “If you want to stay back, we will wait for you, right?” She turned to Cloud and Tifa who both nodded.

He looked at Aerith and smiled, “Yeah… yeah, I know. Let’s see what we find out from the folks up at the Gold Saucer… This place will still be here…” Barret walked towards the cable car. The other three followed.

***

The cable car made its way to the Gold Saucer. As they approached, the fireworks got louder, the music could be heard, and the roars of the roller coasters shook the cable car. It was vibrant and lively. They stepped off and approached the entrance. An attendant stood there with a small printer.

“Hello! Welcome to the Gold Saucer! You’ll need a pass to get in. We have two options.”

“What are they?” Cloud put a hand on his hip.

“We have the one-time option, which is 3,000 Gil. If you leave, you would need to pay another 3,000 Gil to re-enter. The other option is a _lifetime_ pass. This will give you unlimited trips to the Gold Saucer for _life._ ”

“And how much is that?”

“That is a small, one-time payment of 30,000 Gil!”

Cloud sighed, “Fine, I’ll take that one.” He starts counting Gil… and realizes they don’t have 30,000, “Uhh… excuse me… one moment.”

He walks towards the rest of them. Barret was off to the side and he didn’t want to bother him.

“Somehow we’re short… I swore we had close to 45,000 Gil when we left Junon… And we spent around 10,000,” he shut his eyes and took a breath, “in Costa del Sol…”

Aerith, Yuffie, and Red were avoiding his gaze. Tifa was staring daggers at Aerith, “You didn’t tell him,” she hisses through clenched teeth.

Cloud looks at Tifa and then narrows his eyes on Aerith, “Tell me what?”

“Um…” Aerith put on her best smile, “Well, you see… Remember the woman who let us use her house in Junon?”

Cloud just stared at her. His arms were crossed.

Aerith looked to Tifa, who was looking down, and then back to Cloud, “Well, you see… We wanted to thank her for letting us use her house and all…”

Cloud continued to just stare at her. Tifa would glance up at him as Aerith was talking to see what he was doing.

“She _really_ wanted to see _Loveless…_ So, we got her tickets.”

“And how much were these tickets?”

Yuffie was backing away. Red stood behind her and almost made her fall over him, “Hey!”

Cloud shot a look at Yuffie, “You’re staying right here.”

“Psh… fine… _Dad.”_ Yuffie crossed her arms.

Cloud rolled his eyes. Tifa bit her lip to try and stop laughing.

“How much did you spend?” Cloud had refocused his dad-stare back on Aerith.

She cleared her throat and said something really quietly.

“What was that?”

“Seven……d,” she kept it quiet.

“Seven Hundred?” Cloud questioned.

“No.”

Tifa finally sighed and looked up, “Seven Thousand.”

Cloud’s eyes grew wide, “You knew about this too?” He sounded so betrayed.

She put her hands up, “I didn’t know until we were in the Surf Shop! I really didn’t… but… I think it’s nice that they thought to do something for that nice woman…”

“We had every intention of telling you… but we got sidetracked.” Red finally stepped out from behind Yuffie, assuming she was no longer a flight risk.

“Guys, we have to be careful with funds… for situations like this. What if we run out of money and can’t buy food and supplies?” Cloud really did sound like a dad right now…

“We’re really sorry. Next time, we’ll make sure to ask you.” Aerith offered.

Tifa looked at Cloud, “Well, what should we do? Just buy the 3,000 Gil one or should we go back down and try to make money?”

“If I buy just the 3,000 Gil one, I know one of you will leave and we’ll need to pay another 3,000 Gil to get back in…,” Cloud sighed, “Do we have any inventory we can unload?”

“We have a lot of Fury Rings and about 7 too many Fire Materia,” Tifa looked around.

“Woah, woah, don’t sell perfectly good Materia!” Yuffie perked up.

“Why not? We don’t need 15 Fire Materias,” Cloud looked at her suspiciously.

“You never know! What if some get lost or something?”

“Well we leave the more mature ones equipped… it’s the ones we pick up and never use that we can get rid of.”

“What if you drop one? Huh?”

“…Why would we suddenly drop the Materia off of our equipment?”

“Psh, beats me.” Yuffie walked away.

***

After going back down to North Corel, finding a few maxed-out Fire Materias, and begrudgingly selling them… they were back up to a somewhat okay amount of funds.

Cloud walked to the attendant and handed her 30,000 Gil.

“Thank you! Please enjoy your time here!”

The party walked through the main gate. Loud was an understatement. This made Wall Market sound quiet. Everything was bright and vibrant. Lights, fireworks, games, Chocobo Racing… And a place called The Moogie Inn.

“So, what do you want to do first?” Aerith asked.

“Well, we need to figure out who to talk to about transportation over that river to the West…” Cloud began.

A man walked near Barret and stopped, “You scumbag piece of shit. How dare you show your face here again?!”

Barret started to storm towards him. Tifa stopped him.

“Man, screw this.”

“Barret, it’s okay… just ignore them…” Tifa tried to console him.

He stormed off and went to the Battle Square.

“What should we do?” Tifa inquired.

“I guess we should go after him…” Cloud sighed.

“Well, who’s going?” Red looked at all of them.

Cloud looked at Red and cocked an eyebrow, “…Why can’t we all go?”

“Well, _clearly_ you need to pick one special person to go with you. That way, everybody will get the wrong idea and start unnecessary arguments about it.” Aerith offered.

Tifa, Red, and Cloud all looked at he with very confused expressions.

“I… don’t get what you’re saying…” Cloud crossed his arms and frowned.

Tifa laughed softly, “I think she’s joking… saying whoever you pick you’ll be stuck with for the rest of your life, according to some people.”

Cloud looked at Tifa and wanted to say something but couldn’t, “Um…”

Tifa smiled at him and sighed, “Cloud, it’s a joke. Don’t take it seriously. We’re all going.”

“Of course I’m joking!” Aerith giggled, “But who would you have picked?”

 _“Tifa.”_ Cloud gives Aerith a death stare, “Clearly I would have picked Barret, but he ran off.”

Tifa laughs at this. Cloud can’t help but let a small smile escape.

“Oh, you’re no fun!” Aerith sighed.

“I guess not.” Cloud looked at Tifa, _“It would have been you… and I don’t know why…”_

Tifa’s eyes widened as if she could hear his inner thoughts. It must have been the look he gave her. She started to blush and looked away towards the Battle Square entrance.

“In any case, we should get going… I don’t want to spend the night here.” Red walked off.

***

“Sorry, the Battle Square is undergoing some routine cleaning currently. Please come back later.”

Cloud walked back to the group and sighed, “Not open… so where did he go?”

“I guess we just start looking…” Tifa couldn’t think of another place that he could have _wanted_ to go. The Gold Saucer had a monorail that would bring patrons to various attractions. Once it came back, they hopped on.

Aerith was looking at a map, “Let’s try… the Event Square!”

“What’s at the Event Square?” Tifa was looking to see if there was any information around.

“Events.” Cloud gave her a teasing look.

Tifa rolled her eyes and let a laugh escape, “I wonder if the events include any dancing?” She smiled at him and tilted her head.

Cloud narrowed his eyes at her and gave her a warning look. _“How does she always do that…? No matter what, she always wins…”_

“Ooo, Tifa, do you want to go dancing?!” Aerith perked up.

“I’d love to go dancing!” Tifa jumps around to look at her.

“Sorry, Cloud. Girls only.” Aerith looks around, “Where’s Yuffie?”

“I think she is avoiding the monorail… you know… Moving vehicle.” Tifa looked back at the Gold Saucer directory.

Over the speaker, they were made aware that the next stop was the Event Square.

All of them piled off and saw Yuffie over near a small shop.

“Hey, Yuffie.” Aerith looks, “Whatcha lookin’ at?”

“These stupid Plushies.”

“Oh, why are they stupid?”

“Oh man you never heard about the fights these things caused?” Yuffie started laughing.

“The Plushies caused a fight?” Tifa looked at Yuffie and then over to Aerith.

“Well! This café sells Plushies from some of the most popular shows. They have been selling the ones from _Moomba Forever 7_ , Yuffie looks back and points to two of them, “So the Moomba named Tiffany and the Moomba named Clad have this long history, but they’re both dense and don’t realize their feelings for each other for, like, ever. Then this Moomba named Ashley comes in and she’s friends with Clad suddenly. And like, it’s not supposed to be a thing, right?”

Tifa, Aerith, and Cloud are staring at Yuffie like she’s crazy.

“Just… just listen… _I_ know it’s stupid, but some of the women in my hometown took this _very_ seriously. _Allegedly_ they put the Ashley Moomba and the Clad Moomba with a dessert in the middle of them. Then they took it down because they weren’t happy with the display. _WELL,_ they then put a different display up with the Tiffany Moomba and the Clad Moomba and they were _sitting next to each other_.”

Red walked away, “This is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard…”

“So ANYWAY,” Yuffie continued, “The ones who support the Clashley side got _really_ mad and started boycotting the café and throwing things at it… It was insane.”

Cloud blinks, “What the hell is a ‘Clashley’?”

“Oh, it’s a mix of the two names for Clad and Ashley,” Yuffie huffed, “I mean, it’s _clearly_ ridiculous. Ashley is in love with another guy anyway named Zeik and Clad is all messed up in the head until like the third season. Of course Tiffany is the one who sticks by him… Ashley leaves at the end of the first season…”

“So… why would people think Clad ends up with Ashley, then?” Tifa cocked her head to the side.

Yuffie shrugs, “I dunno, I guess they stop watching after the first season.”

Aerith tilts her head, “This sounds familiar… Like I’ve seen it…”

Tifa shakes her head, “I guess I never watched that show… I wasn’t aware of any of this…”

Yuffie huffs, “Be glad… My mom was fighting with the Clashleys. She’s a Clati.”

Cloud blinks again and looks at all three girls.

“Oh, that’s Clad and Tiffany.” Yuffie notices how confused Cloud is.

“Thanks, Yuffie, for explaining that,” Cloud sighs.

“Hey, no problem!”

He continues, “I feel like I just lost five minutes of my life over something that will never be useful to me. In any capacity.”

Yuffie rolls her eyes at him, “You’re dumb.”

Aerith starts laughing, “Hey, you never know… may not be hard to keep some notes. Never know if you’ll fall into a situation like that!”

“I doubt it.” Cloud sighs again.

***

The Event Square had shops, restaurants and a theater that look suspiciously familiar. The Moogie Inn.

“This place looks fun!” Aerith looks up at the glowing sign.

Tifa looks closer, “An Andrea Rhodea establishment!?”

“Oh! Maybe Andrea will invite us to a show!” Aerith was quite excited and gave Cloud her evil look that she has infected Tifa with as well.

“Maybe another time, we need to find Barret.” Cloud continues to move past The Moogie Inn.

They walked around for a bit.

“Nothing…” Red sighed, “Should we just go back to the Station and wait? They say if you are lost, you should wait in one spot so it’s easier to find you…”

“Barret is going to stay in one spot… He’s on a mission… I just don’t know what that mission is…” Tifa worried her bottom lip.

“Let’s try… the Wonder Square,” Aerith looked back at them, “That sounds fun!”

The group made their way over to the Wonder Square, which is where all the games were. Games that you could only use GP – the Gold Saucer currency – or a really ridiculous amount of Gil on.

“Hey, excuse me!”

Cloud looked around. The accent was… unique…

“Hey, hey, can I ask you something?”

Cloud closed his eyes a few times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things… a large stuffed Mog with a cat was walking towards them. He looked to the others for confirmation… and based on the looks on their faces, he knew this was not just him.

“Uh…” Cloud didn’t really know what to say.

“I’m a fortune teller.” The stuffed figure explained.

“Not interested…” Cloud tried to walk away.

“Wait! I swear, it’ll be worth your while!”

Cloud sighed, “Fine. It’s not like this stuff is real…”

“Mine are the best fortunes you can get! You won’t be disappointed.”

Tifa looked at Cloud, “It might be fun… Maybe it’ll tell us something good.”

“Oooo, yeah, tell us our future!” Aerith looked on eagerly.

“One fortune, coming right up!” The stuffed figure started shuffling around. A paper printed out and he handed it to Cloud.

Cloud looked at it, “NSFW—” The stuffed figure quickly grabbed it.

“Whoops! Not that one,” it laughed nervously, “That’s uh, I left some project work in the printer… I guess…” The Mog started shifting again. Another paper printed.

Cloud takes it and looks, “You’ll do more than chill under the Highwind…?” they all look at each other, “What’s that mean?”

The cat looks at them, “I have no idea.”

“I’m done with this shit.” Cloud starts to walk away.

“Wait!! Give me one more chance!” The cat takes a few breaths that sound like they aren’t natural and moves very quickly. A new fortune prints out.

Cloud takes the new one and looks at it, but pauses.

“What’s it say?” Aerith walks over.

“The consequence of the interference will be realized at the point in the true crossroads?” All of them looked at each other.

“Well… I’ve never gotten a fortune like _that_ before!” The cat mused for a moment, “That’s it. I’ve gotta come with you. I need to see this one through.”

“What?!” Cloud put his hand up.

“Sorry, I need to. It’s my job as a fortune teller to make sure I understand what that means.”

“No, what the hell!?”

“I’ll just follow you around until you accept me.”

They all look at each other.

“So, kind of like what Yuffie did…?” Cloud looks at Aerith and Tifa.

“HEY! Screw you too, buddy!” Yuffie starts going to punch him, the large Mog steps in front of her, and she punches the soft body of it.

“See, I protected you.”

Cloud sighed, “Fine…”

“The more the merrier, I suppose…” Tifa sighed and smiled at the newest member.

“The names Cait Sith. You can call me Cait if you want. Or Sith.”

“Are you really a cat?” Yuffie asked and tried to poke Cait Sith.

“Back, back I say!” Cait Sith swatted at Yuffie.

***

They decided to try the Battle Square again. They checked all of the other areas and found no trace of Barret. When they arrived, the atmosphere was heavy.

Cloud approached the man that had been standing in the way of the stairs up to the Battle Arena… and he fell over.

“What?!” Tifa backed up. Cloud drew his sword.

“You guys stay back…” Cloud started walking up.

“N-No!” Tifa ran up to his side. He looked at her, eyes wide, jaw dropped, “I’m not letting you go alone.”

He gave her a stern look, but realized there was nothing that would stop her, not with that look in her eye. He sighed and nodded his acknowledgement.

“The rest of you stay here…”

They said nothing.

Cloud and Tifa began to climb the stairs to the main entrance of the Battle Arena. It was similar to the Corneo Coliseum. The feeling was getting heavy as the got closer.

“Blood…” Tifa gasped.

Cloud saw a man lying on the ground ahead. He bent down and tried to find a pulse but couldn’t. He looked over his body, “This guy was shot…”

Tifa looked at him nervously, “No… you don’t think Barret did this, do you?”

Cloud shook his head and looked forward, _“I don’t know…”_

There were more bodies inside. All of them had been shot.

“Stop!”

Cloud and Tifa turned, ready to fight. A large muscular man and a few security guards came in, guns drawn and pointed at them.

“We didn’t do this!” Tifa pleaded.

“Looks like you’ve got weapons.” The large muscular man started to approach them.

Suddenly, Cait Sith came through and knocked over a guard with his large body and was yelling through a Megaphone, which seemed to stun the guards, “RUN!”

Cloud and Tifa were wide eyed.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Cloud yelled at him.

“Just run!”

Tifa looked at him and they both started running.

The muscular man started yelling after them, “Get them! Get up!”

They ran to the back and there was no way out. They were in the battle arena.

“Shit.” Cloud looked around desperately for a way out.

“End of the line for you three…” The muscular man snapped his fingers. Three robots emerged from behind secret doors around them. They were surrounded.

“Cloud, what about the others?” Tifa looked over her shoulder at him.

“Oh, don’t worry about them… I already rounded them up.” The muscular guy said and turned away, “Have fun… in prison.”

Cait Sith and his Mog were picked up first. He started slamming his Megaphone on the robot’s head, to no avail. A trap door opened in the center of the area. The robot jumped down with Cait Sith and a scream was heard the entire way down.

Cloud and Tifa were back to back. The robots were closing in on them. Tifa threw a punch, but it was blocked by some type of electromagnetic field. Cloud’s sword bounced off as well.

“Cloud!” she turned just as the robot grabbed her.

“Tifa!” he reached for her but was grabbed himself.

They looked desperately at each other. Tifa was struggling trying to get out. Cloud was trying to find a weakness somewhere. Tifa’s robot jumped and his heart dropped. She looked up at him as she went down. Cloud’s robot jumped next.

***

_“Hey buddy… Another fall, huh?”_

“You again…”

_“Not as bad this time… the robot took most of the impact… It just zapped you unconscious.”_

“Tifa…”

_“Tifa will be okay if you get up… But you’ve gotta wake up…”_

“Yeah… Yeah…”

_“That’s it…”_

“When… are you going to tell me… who you are?”

_“Soon…”_

“I…”

_“Oh, Cloud… another failure…”_

“Sephiroth!”

_“You let her fall again… tsk tsk… You just can’t save anybody… can you?”_

“Shut up…”

_“Cloud… you’re forgetting… all of these failures will make you stronger… All of this pain and anguish… There is a great reward to it all.”_

“No!”

_“Don’t listen to him. Try to stay strong. Focus on getting up. Focus on making sure Tifa is okay.”_

***

Cloud slowly opened his eyes… He was laying in… sand? He blinked a few times and then sat up straight looking around frantically.

“Tifa?!”

He spotted a figure curled up a bit away, with Cait Sith fighting three bandits… He gasped and jumped up, running full speed towards them. As he approached, he reached over his right shoulder… and grabbed air.

They took their equipment. Of course they did… they’re in prison.

“Shit!” Cloud ran over to Tifa.

“Oh, good, you’re here!” Cait Sith yelled, “HELP!”

Cloud placed a hand on her arm, “Tifa!”

She made a noise and her head moved a bit. Cloud sighed in relief. She opened her eyes.

“Cloud… what…”

“HAVE THE LOVING REUNION LATER!” Cait Sith was frantic. Cloud looked up and saw why…

“YOU!”

“Oh, it’s _you_ dumbasses…” Cloud stood, looked back down and held a hand out to Tifa to help her up.

Beck, Butch, and Burke… Beck’s Badasses…

“Dumbasses, he says!” Beck looks back at the other two.

“Yeah, you’d be happy to know I have a degree in psychoanalogy.” Burke spits out.

“It’s psychology, you moron!” Beck slapped him.

“Uhhhh what’s shy college coeds?” Butch scratched his head.

“It’s like… what they do with people that are messed up in the head. They give ‘em stuff to make ‘em better and talk to ‘em. Psychology.” Beck explained.

“Ohhhhh, I get it!” Butch starts clapping and jumping.

Cloud and Tifa are standing there with their arms crossed. Cait Sith’s Mog is still jumping up and down ready to fight.

“These guys still owe us our due wreck um pants!” Butch said.

“Yeah! That’s right!” Beck said and hyped the other two morons.

Beck lunged forward. Tifa punched him in the face. He flew back and grabbed his face, “You stupid bitch!”

Cloud isn’t sure what happened next, but the next thing he knew he had Beck by the neck and was holding him up above him. His face was turning blue. He was struggling. The other two were panicking. Cait Sith and Tifa were frozen. Butch made a move forward and Tifa kicked him in the stomach, throwing him back a good ten feet. Burke put his hands up.

Beck was gasping and choking. Cloud could only see red. Pure rage.

“Cloud!” Tifa pleaded.

He snapped out of his trance and dropped Beck. The bandit coughed and heaved, holding his neck.

Cloud kneeled down and grabbed the bandit by the back of the neck to look him in the eye, “Get the hell out of here. I won’t drop you next time…”

The three took off. The back of Burke’s pants were brown.

“Hah! I’m pretty sure the one shit his pants!” Cait Sith jumped up and down cackling.

Cloud looked over at Tifa and softly asked, “You okay?”

She blinked a few times and nodded at him, “…Are you?”

“Yeah.” Cloud sighed, “I don’t have my sword…”

She laughed, “I have my weapons right here.” She holds up both fists and looks down at her feet. He can’t help but smile at that.

“Lucky I brought you, then…” Cloud looked at her hands, “They took your gloves?”

“Ah, yeah… That’s okay. I can still fight without them.”

“Hey, you got me too!” Cait Sith’s Mog holds up its fists.

Cloud look at Cait Sith and crossed his arms, “Are you going to pillow fight them to death?”

“Hey! These hurt. You want me to hit you?!” The Mog starts swinging.

“Nope.” Cloud turns and walks away. Tifa walks alongside him.

“So… this is a prison?” Tifa asked and looked around. There were goons staring at them.

“Yeah… seems to be…”

You could hear Cait Sith walking from a mile away. It was almost a cartoonish sound. A constant rubbery bounce. Cloud wasn’t sure how long he was going to be able to tolerate this.

Bump boink bump boink bump boink.

“We need to figure out where the others are…” Tifa finally said.

“We also need to find our equipment…” Cloud sighed.

“You know, Cloud… You could use your fists…” Tifa looked over and smiled, “Or your feet.”

Cloud thought about it, it’d be better than nothing, “Yeah, I could. I kicked Corneo across the room before you and Aerith came in the room…”

“You did, did you? What’d he do to deserve that?”

“What _didn’t_ he try to do is a better question… I’m glad you… I’m really glad you didn’t get picked to go in there.”

Tifa smiled, “Or Aerith.”

“He was looking at you…” Cloud sighed, “I think Aerith knew it, that’s why she said something to distract him.”

“I would have been fine… You’ve seen how much ass I can kick.”

“Yeah… I know.” Cloud knew he would have tried to grab at her. Tifa was tough, but just the though of him being alone in the same room – a powerful fighter or not – made him feel sick.

“I think we have company…” Tifa leaned over and whispered to Cloud. A few paces behind were a few goons snickering at them.

Cloud straightened up a bit.

“Hey baby, come ‘ere… give daddy some lovin’… he’s lonely.” The guy was getting closer.

Cloud was grinding his teeth and clenching his fist. Tifa could hear the leather being strained.

“Cloud, it’s fine… I can deal with it…”

The guy came from behind and grabbed Tifa by the arm. This was a mistake. She flipped him over her so quickly he didn’t even realize what was happening. She put her boot on his neck, “You want to try that again?”

Cloud just stood there staring at her with his mouth open and eyes wide. She let up on the goon’s neck and he took off.

“Wow! What a woman!” Cait Sith jumped up and down happily.

Tifa looked at Cloud and put her hands behind her back, “Told ya so.” She walked away with a bit of a bounce.

Cloud blinked a few times and his mouth went dry.

***

Aerith brushed herself off. Red and Yuffie were in a similar state. They’re in a desert prison… it’s hot… dry… and there’s a bunch of goons walking around.

“Ugh, where do you think Cloud and Tifa are?” Yuffie stands up and groans.

“They’ve gotta be down here…” Aerith began looking around.

“Barret may be down here too… If the people at the arena were really shot…” Red trailed off.

“I don’t think Barret did that…” Aerith sighed.

Yuffie stopped, “What are we going to do if we have to fight something…? We don’t have any equipment…”

“I have my claws and my teeth… I’m not worried.”

“They took the Materia too…” Aerith observed.

“What if we don’t get it back?!” Yuffie looked panicked.

“I’m more concerned about finding the others and getting out of here. I’m sure we will find our equipment along the way…” Red was panting. It was hot. And dry.

“There’s houses… we should stop in one.” Aerith was tired.

***

“Let’s stop at this house up here… maybe try to figure out what we need to do next…” Cloud pointed over to an abandoned house.

They had to fight off a few goons along the way. Nothing too crazy. Goons aren’t really exciting to fight, especially when they have prison created weapons. A few swift kicks and punches.

Cloud misses his sword. He misses swinging it around, feeling the power, hearing that unique sound… But there was something empowering about punching and kicking, too.

“You know, you’re not too bad at fighting without your sword.” Tifa was walking along with Cloud.

“Nothing compared to you.” He glanced over at her and saw her blushing.

“Maybe I can teach you some moves when we get out of here…”

Cloud wasn’t sure if his throat closed up or his stomach turned inside out, but the thought of Tifa teaching him some of the moves he’s seen her do – specifically anytime she pins somebody – made his head spin.

“Cloud?”

_“Okay… this one… I… do I just say yes? What if she thinks my mind is elsewhere? I mean… my mind is starting to…”_

Tifa started laughing, “Does that make you nervous or something?”

“Thirsty.” Cloud turns red, _“That’s NOT what was supposed to come out of your mouth.”_

“Thirsty?” Tifa tilted her head, “Do you need water?”

“Y-yeah, that’s it…”

Tifa knew. She smiled and turned from him.

_“She… she’s doing this on purpose now… Two can play at this game…”_

***

They entered the house. A broken, burned couch was in the middle of the room, along with a China cabinet that had some of its contents still in one piece. There was an air of sadness in the home. Cloud and Tifa walked in quietly. Cloud thought he heard something and put his arm up in front of Tifa.

Barret slammed in through the other door. He immediately saw Cloud and Tifa, “I thought I told you not to worry about this…” He suddenly focused his attention on the couch and started shooting. A groan and then a goon falls over from behind the couch.

“Barret… what happened?” Tifa stayed behind Cloud, frozen.

Barret softened his stance and shook his head.

Cloud also relaxed his stance, “Did you shoot those people?”

“No, I didn’t shoot ‘em.” He slid his hand down his face.

Yuffie, Aerith, and Red came in behind Tifa and Cloud, causing Barret to tense up again.

“If you didn’t shoot them, who did?” Tifa started to walk forward a bit.

“There’s another guy… with a gun for an arm.” Barret started, “Funny to think… this is the house where it all went down. Decided to let Shinra build the reactor, and soon after, it was all gone.”

He walked slowly around the house and looked at the different things left behind, “Thought he was dead. Until I saw those men shot. I had to follow him, find out why he… never came back… That Scarlet, though… She shot my damn arm off.”

“Scarlet did?” Cloud seemed surprised by this.

“You wanna talk about a ruthless woman… That’s Scarlet. She’s just a step below Hojo. Only by a little…” Barret sighed, “Me and that other guy were on our way back when they got here… they just torched the place. Said the coal miners tried to sabotage the reactor. For punishment, they BURNED IT ALL DOWN!”

Barret punched through the wall with his gun arm, “I was hangin’ on to him. They’d shot him and he was hanging off the side of the cliff… She shot mine and his damn arms off. He fell. I thought for sure he was dead… Then I heard from the doc I got this done at that it was second one he was doing. The other guy it was his left arm. So, I always wondered when I’d run in to him again.

There was never a damn investigation, nothin’… not until after. And then they found out it was an issue with the reactor. No outside interference… but the damage had already been done. And they didn’t give a SHIT.”

The rest of the party stood in silence. Tifa was looking down.

“So that’s why… I gotta find him… That’s why I’m down here… I didn’t want none of ya to get involved in this…” Barret sighed, “Figured if I just ran off you’d give up.”

“Not how it works.” Cloud gave him a stern look.

Barret had to crack a smile at that.

“So, I’m gonna find him. I heard he’s down here somewhere… Then we’ll get the hell outta here.”

With that, Barret walked out.

“I don’t think we should let him go alone…” Tifa put her arms over her stomach, “What if something happens?”

“It’s his fight…” He looked down at Tifa, “…But we can follow behind just in case.” She smiled at him.

Red handed Aerith 10 Gil.

***

Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith were following Barret at a distance. They made their way through an old junk yard and could hear gun shots every so often. Cloud signaled for them to lay low.

“Dyne…”

“Never thought I’d hear that voice again… That traitorous shitbag of a mouth…” Dyne continued to shoot at nothing.

“I thought you died…”

“I wish I would have. I don’t got anything. My wife’s dead, my daughters dead… Nothing. Don’t even know why they kept me alive…”

Barret’s eyes widened, “Dyne… Marlene… Marlene is alive…!”

Dyne looked at Barret, “Then bring her here… so we can be together… Me… Eleanor… and Marlene.” He looked down at the grave marker where his wife was laid to rest.

“Dyne! What are you saying, man? Why don’t you just come back with me. To Midgar!? We can go see Marlene together! She’s safe in Midgar!”

“I can’t do that, Barret. Looks like I’m gonna have to fight you.”

“Dyne, we don’t need to do this!”

“Yeah, we do, Barret. Now, DIE!”

Dyne shot at Barret and missed. He threw a Molotov Cocktail at him and Barret was able to dodge it (barely).

“C’mon, man! You’re not thinking!”

“I’m thinking just fine. You’re gonna die, then we’re all gonna be together. You and Myrna will be together, and me, Eleanor, and Marlene.”

“Stop saying that crazy shit! You gotta move on! I know your wife died. Mine did too! That doesn’t mean you just stop livin’!”

“I got nothin’, Barret! Nobody!”

Dyne kept shooting at Barret. Finally, Barret shot and hit him right in the chest. He stumbled.

“Barret…”

“Dyne, please… Stop this shit!”

“Barret… Take this.” He threw a pendant at him, “Give it to Marlene….. It was Eleanor’s.”

“No, Dyne, you’re gonna give it to her yourself!”

Dyne sighed and coughed, “I can’t. I got too much blood on my hands to carry Marlene.”

“Then I shouldn’t be! Dyne!”

Dyne started to walk backwards.

“Eleanor…… I’ll see you soon…”

“Dyne, wait!”

Dyne gave Barret one last glance and held his arms out to his side before falling backwards off the cliffside.

“DYNE!!!”

***

Tifa was shaken. Cloud could see her eyes starting to form tears.

“Tifa…” She just looked up at him. He froze. He should be getting better at this, at comforting people… at comforting _her_ specifically, but he still fails when the moment comes. He doesn’t know what to do. Cloud clenched his fist.

“Tifa, it’s okay…” Aerith puts her hand on her shoulder and looks at her to try and comfort her. Tifa offers her a weak smile.

 _“Shoulder touch…”_ Aerith gave him an encouraging look. Cloud heard Barret coming back and stood up.

“What the hell, man?! I thought I told you this was my fight!”

“It was. We were only here in case you needed backup.” Cloud smirked at him.

Barret sighed, “Yeah, yeah… I get it.” He started to walk away and stopped, “Uh… thanks.”

“Well, I know you’d do the same for me…”

Barret smiled at him, “Even if you act like an asshole about it, huh?”

“Yeah, even if I act like an asshole about it.”

Barret walked over and patted him on the shoulder, “Let’s figure out how to get outta here.”

***

“Chocobo racing?!” Aerith exclaimed, “We have to win a Chocobo race?”

“Yes, the only way to get out of here is to win the next Chocobo race.” Mr. Coates explains.

“Okay, I’ll do it.” Tifa steps forward.

Cloud frowns at her, “Huh?”

“I can do it… I-I’d like to do it.”

“Well, that’s nice and all, but you need a manager.” Mr. Coates sat down in his chair.

“A manager? Where do we find a manager?” Aerith looked at Cloud and Barret.

“Hi, I heard your story.”

A woman in bring pink and yellow clothing walked in. She had vibrant, curly, red hair and wore hit pink pumps and a pink top hat. She had a ridiculous amount of makeup on and must have bathed in perfume before walking in the room.

“Ester?” Mr. Coates stood.

“Yes, I’ll be their manager.” Ester looks around and gives everyone a warm smile.

“Ester might look a little funny, but she’s the best manager you can ask for…” Mr. Coates teases.

“Oh, stop, you!” Ester giggles. Cloud and Barret looks at each other wondering how that would be considered a compliment. Even Cloud knew that was not a compliment.

“Alright, well, you decide which one of you is riding.” Mr. Coates sat down again.

Ester put a finger up, “I actually need two, if possible. One of the jockeys got sick about an hour ago, so we’re short one. If we don’t fill all spots, we’d need to wait for another person… The Chocobos don’t do well unless all slots are filled.”

“Perfect! Tifa, you said you want to do it, and then Cloud can be the second person!” Aerith beams. Yuffie grumbles.

“That works!” Tifa was excited she was going to be in the Chocobo race.

“Okay, well, you two come with me. If you win, you’re outta here and you’ll get all your equipment back.” Ester starts to lead Tifa and Cloud out.

“ _Just_ the way it was?” Yuffie shoots at her.

“Yes, child, just the way it was.” Ester walks out with Cloud and Tifa.

“CHILD?!” Yuffie huffs.

***

Ester lead them to an elevator. She pressed the button to go up. Tifa was smiling about the prospect of being in the Chocobo race.

“I didn’t know you like riding Chocobos so much.” Cloud glanced at her.

“Well, I’ve always wanted to try the races here… I remember seeing them on TV when we were kids. The lights, the courses, they look so amazing!” Tifa was giddy, “Plus, Chocobos are cute.”

“Do you know how to race Chocobos?” Ester chimed in.

“Well, I know how to ride one.” Tifa looked over at Cloud, “What’s the difference?”

“With racing, you need to watch their stamina. There’s tells they’ll give that you need to back off on the pressure. You can slow them down by letting up on the pressure of your thighs and the reins. If you want them to go faster, just squeeze your thighs together to encourage them to move faster. You just need to be careful. The Chocobos you two are getting should be pretty calm, so you shouldn’t have too many issues controlling them. Oh, and try to match with their trot. It takes a bit of getting used to, but if you ridden a Chocobo before, you’ll know what I mean by moving with the Chocobo.”

“Well, that’s good!” Tifa smiled at Cloud, “You ready to lose?”

“In your dreams, maybe…”

Ester laughed, “The nice thing is, it doesn’t matter which one of you wins, since you’re from the same group… Dio told us it’d be fine.”

“Dio?”

“He’s the owner of the Battle Arena.”

“Oh… that guy…” Cloud remembered that guy. He threw them down here, “What does he want?”

“Well he’s your ticket out of here.”

“Huh, but he put us down here?” Tifa frowned.

“I believe he was informed that he may have been mistaken… and since your friend took care of the real problem… He’s making a special exception. It’s rare, but sometimes he will make exceptions in extraordinary circumstances.”

 _“Sounds like somebody else I know…”_ Cloud sighed at the memory of trying to get a meeting with Andrea Rhodea.

The elevator opened and they were in the waiting area.

“Okay, make yourselves comfortable… I’ll come get you when they’re ready.” Ester walked out.

There were other jockeys waiting around drinking coffee, reading the newspaper, or doing absolutely nothing except staring at the wall.

“Hey, what’s that over there?” Tifa pointed towards a red orb.

They approached it, “Summon Materia…” Cloud picked it up and spun it around in his hand a few times.

“That’s… a random place for it.”

“Yeah… should we take it?”

Tifa looks around, “I doubt anybody here dropped it…”

“Never know, maybe it’ll come in handy during the race…”

Tifa laughes and hits him in the arm. Gently. She’s not trying to break his arm before the race.

Cloud blushes and puts the Materia in his pocket.

Ester comes back, “Hey, Cloud, Tifa? Are you guys ready?”

“Yup!” Tifa is beaming.

“Yeah, we’re ready.” Cloud needs to stay cool.

***

Cloud and Tifa are each on a Chocobo. Tifa looks over at Cloud. She’s competitive. Her eyes are different. A challenge. He stares at her and sits up on the Chocobo, getting ready to go. She looks at him and bounces up quickly to reposition herself.

 _“How does she always do that…?”_ Cloud turns red and looks away from her.

Cloud and Tifa have a history of subtle, passive teasing. Cloud thinks he has the upper hand, he thinks he’s going to win… and then Tifa does something like that. Something that makes his brain misfire. She somehow knows what makes him tick. Every time. Usually, she’s shy… but when she gets competitive and wants something really bad, she gets **_bold._**

“Get ready!!”

Cloud leans forward. Tifa is gripping the reins and her heart is pounding. She really does want to win this race.

“3!”

Cloud looks over to see her focus.

“2!”

Tifa glances to Cloud. She’s going to beat him, she’s determined.

“1!”

They hold…

“AND THEY’RE OFF!”

These Chocobos are well trained. Cloud takes the lead first and continues. He thinks he’s got a good pace, so he lets up a bit. He’ll save all of the Chocobo’s stamina for a strong finish. He sees flowing black hair go past him and a quick glance from Tifa, who has this devilish smile on her face. Surprised, Cloud tenses to tell the Chocobo to go faster. He catches up to her and matches her speed.

“You think you’re gonna win this?” He yells at her.

“Oh, I _know_ I’m going to win this!” She goes ahead of him.

***

“Alright, alright, one at a time, one at a time!” Yuffie is yelling at people and collecting tickets and Gil, “100 Gil per bet! Bet is that he’s gonna let the girl win, even if he’s ahead of her!”

Aerith is sorting through the Gil coming in. The prisoners must keep a secret stash down here. Or it’s their allowance money. Maybe they get it from killing monsters.

“What a genius idea!” Aerith looks over at Red.

“I’ve been observing human habits with Gil. They really do like throwing it away for no reason.” Red looks down at the racetrack, “It seems its more exciting when we’re doing it to see if we can predict the outcome of an event. It’s fascinating.”

“Well, I see this all the time. Lots of drunks come in thinking they’re some kind of fortune tellers – like me – and lose all their money.” Cait Sith had left his Mog body outside of the room, luckily, so there isn’t a constantly rubber bouncing noise.

“Yeah, well, there’s more to it than just guessin’ you know…” Barret takes a look down at the track, “It’s about past performance, external factors such as the emotional state of the jockey, the Chocobo’s health, what type of track it is… You gotta know your stuff to really make money at this. I mean, I guess there’s luck.”

“So, what do you think the outcome of this will be?” Red inquires.

“Oh, he’s gonna let her win. He’s whipped.”

“Ooohhh!!! They’re getting close to the end.” Aerith yells and everybody rushes over to watch.

***

The home stretch is near Cloud and Tifa are in front.

They can see the finish line. Tifa is squeezing and encouraging the Chocobo to go faster. She’s red in the face, determined. Her eyes are straight ahead.

It’s coming up quick.

Cloud is slightly ahead.

Almost there. A few paces away.

“Hey… Cloud… Your hair looks like a… Chocobo.” Tifa yells from his side.

Cloud’s eyes widen and he let’s up a bit.

Tifa flies past.

Just at the last moment, she finishes by _inches._

He’s panting.

She’s panting.

They’re red in the face.

She smiles and jumps off the Chocobo.

He jumps off. He can’t help it, he’s smiling. Not too big, no teeth, let’s not get crazy, but he’s smiling at her. He doesn’t know what’s gotten into him. The adrenaline? The rush of the race? Seeing her absolutely thrilled? Her using one of the most genius tactics on him right at the end there?

“I won!” She jumps on him and hugs him. He’s shocked. He freezes, but… He _gently_ brings his arms up. He learned the first time how this one works.

“You did.”

Then they realize what’s going on and turn red. They’re looking at each other. She’s inches from his face.

***

“AHHH!!! GUYS!!! WHAT DID WE SAY A HUG WOULD BE?!” Aerith is screaming.

“WHAT?!” Yuffie jumps up, “THEY’D BETTER NOT! IT’S 20 TO 1!!!!”

Everybody is crowding at the windows.

She hugged him. He hugged her back.

“Oh man, somebody is going to make some bank tonight!” Yuffie is looking through the bets.

Aerith gasps and can’t speak. She’s clawing at Yuffie. Yuffie jumps up.

“Oh, they’re in perfect kiss position…! That’s 200 to 1!!”

“They ain’t gonna do it. He hesitated and is now questioning everything going on right now,” Barret is rubbing his chin.

“Are you a Cloud expert or something?” Yuffie scoffed.

“You hang around those two enough… especially if it’s just you and them… yeah, you pick up on this weird shit they do.”

They all hold their breath.

It feels like its minutes. Hours.

And the two of them jump away from each other.

A few boos go through the room.

Aerith sighs.

_“I just want to see it once…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DAT SEXUAL TENSION IS GONNA KILL ME


	5. Since I Don't Have You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team makes it to GONGAGA! But first, we need a second timeline dream... 
> 
> The buggy is also introduced in this chapter, which I was really excited to write about, because I imagine they fight. A lot. About the buggy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “PUT THE WINDOW DOWN!” Yuffie gagged.  
> “It was Barret! I felt the seat vibrate!” Red’s eyes were tearing up, “Can we please pull over? I need to get out. My nose can’t take this.”  
> “It’s not THAT bad.” Barret huffed.

_“Mom! We’ll be back in a bit!”_

_“Where are you going?”_

_“We’re going to go see Cloud. He’s doing better!”_

_“Alright… Well, just be back before dinner, please. Where is he staying?”_

_Zack cleared his throat, “Sector 7. His friend Tifa got him a place right next to her so she can help him when he needs it.”_

_Elmyra still scared him. She had quite a gaze and he knows she’s still being cautious with him. She did soften up after telling her he was captured as a Prisoner of War, but she’s very protective of Aerith, so it’s a time thing. Zack has to prove that he’ll be there. That he won’t go away again._

_It’s been two weeks since their return. Zack is enjoying the calmer life of merc work in Sector 5, mainly, and helping Aerith and her mom around the house. This also covers his “rent” of staying in the spare room. He was able to fix her flower cart and even add all terrain wheels, since the slums don’t have the best road systems. He also got rid of the SOLDIER uniform in favor of a light blue button-down shirt and jeans. He doesn’t tuck the shirt in all the way, because cool guys don’t do that._

_Sector 7 was now much easier to get to since they’ve dropped all of the ladders in the collapsed expressway. They can still avoid Wall Market but do go through during the day on occasion. Since they’ve been going to see Cloud more often, the Sector 7 residents aren’t as harsh towards them. Zack has even helped them out a few times. Part of Cloud’s recovery is doing small jobs around Sector 7. Usually Tifa will go with him, but on occasion, Zack takes him to relive their old training days._

_Cloud is well liked in Sector 7. He can come off as a bit harsh at times, but Tifa really does bring out his “good” side. Zack finds it comical. Back before Nibelheim burned, he asked Cloud about Tifa and he reacted just as you’d expect a boy who’s got it bad for the girl next door… Except the girl next door had it bad for him too. And now they’re neighbors again… and still don’t know they have it bad for each other._

_Of course, Tifa has a lot of fans. She’s a beautiful, kind, and caring woman. There is a hate club for Cloud because she seems to give all of her attention to him. Zack hopes he know this, maybe it’d boost his confidence a little._

_They finally make their way to Stargazer Heights and Marle is sitting outside with her dog. She gives them a warm hello and they head up to where Cloud’s apartment is. Zack knocks on the door and hears shuffling around inside. Finally, Cloud opens the door a crack and looks at them._

_“Hey, Cloud!” Aerith greets him warmly._

_“Hey guys…”_

_Zack narrows his gaze, “Any reason you aren’t opening the door?”_

_“No.”_

_“Then why don’t you open the door?” Zack crosses his arms and grins at Cloud._

_“Hang on…” Cloud shuts the door._

_Aerith and Zack look at each other. The door finally opens all the way and they enter._

_Tifa is sitting at the small table he has set up eating a breakfast sandwich. Zack looks back to Cloud and smiles. Cloud looks horrified._

_“So, how you guys doinggggg?” Zack looks between them._

_“Good! How about you?” Tifa is acting totally normal, like nothing weird is going on._

_An awkward silence fills the room. Zack hates awkward silences._

_“So, Cloud, let’s go over to Scrap Boulevard! Kill some crap!”_

_“Sure…”_

_“Ladies, we will be back. Don’t do anything crazy while we’re gone!” Zack and Cloud leave._

_Aerith looks at Tifa._

_“So….” She sits across from Tifa._

_“Huh?”_

_“Cloud didn’t want to open the door…”_

_Tifa slows down her chewing. Aerith smiles at her._

_Tifa swallows the bite of her sandwich, “I’ve been staying with him.”_

_“Oooo tell me! How long?! Did he kiss you first? Did he ask to be ‘official’?”_

_“OH!! Oh, oh, not like that! Sorry… umm…” She takes a deep breath, “He’s been having… really weird nightmares. If I stay in the room with him, it seems to calm them down and he doesn’t wake up as violently. If I’m there to ground him, to let him know where he is… he usually will come down from the panic attack pretty quickly…”_

_Aerith blinked a few times, “Has he… told you what these dreams are?”_

_“No, not really… I’ve heard him say things in his sleep. Sometimes he sleepwalks….”_

_“Does he ever say the name ‘Sephiroth’?”_

_Tifa’s eyes widen and her heart rate increases, “…..Yes.”_

_~~~~~~~~~~~_

_Zack and Cloud return a bit later._

_“How was it?” Tifa asks Cloud._

_“It was good… got a lot down today. I feel like it’s getting easier.” He smiles at her._

_“Hey, Tifa? We still doing that one… thing?” Zack pulls up a chair and plops down._

_“Yeah, I’ll confirm with Barret. Cloud is coming with us this time.” Tifa looks over at him._

_“Oh, that’s great!” Zack looks over at Cloud, “You ready for some real merc work?”_

_Cloud takes a deep breath, “I hope so… I don’t want to hold you guys back.”_

_“Cloud, you won’t. I’m really happy you’re going this time….” Tifa always knows what to say to boost him up a bit, and then something to make him not want to go, “I think Jessie is too…”_

_Cloud rolls his eyes._

_“Ohh, are we a stud now?” Zack teases._

_“No!” Cloud started to turn red and pouted at Tifa to help him._

_“Jessie is… aggressive. She especially likes new guys… Umm… yeah.” Tifa seemed a bit annoyed at this._

_“Excuse me… did you just POUT at Tifa?” Zack starts laughing. Tifa and Cloud look at each other and blush furiously._

_Aerith is laughing at this point, enjoying these moments. Something that feels precious and fleeting…_

_~~~~~~~~~_

_On the way back to Sector 5, after having dinner and drinks with Cloud and Tifa at Seventh Heaven, Aerith is being abnormally quiet._

_“What’s up?” Zack slips an arm around her shoulders._

_“Tifa told me she’s staying in Cloud’s room with him.”_

_“That liar! I asked him how long he’s been enjoying adult activities!”_

_“No, Zack… No, not like that…. Cloud is having really bad nightmares and talking in his sleep… like you are. He’s seeing Sephiroth.”_

_The blood drained from Zack’s face. There’s something about this, something that’s really not good. Sephiroth is dead…. Unless…_

_“Aerith… I think I need to go to Shinra HQ and talk to some old friends… we need to figure this out… I have my suspicions based on things I remember seeing in that Shinra Mansion.”_

_~~~~~~~~~_

_“Gongaga!” Zack takes in a deep breath, “First time I’ve been home in…. wow… a long time…” He scratches the back of his head._

_A reactor town with a destroyed reactor. Zack had been warned of the reactor accident and also had been made aware that his parents were okay._

_“Aerith, first, we’re going to my house!”_

_Aerith was excited to finally meet Zack’s parents after all this time… And the fact that she was out of Midgar. Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie are tagging along as well._

_Aerith and Zack approach a modest home on the far side of town. Zack opens the door and give his parents the shock of their lives._

_“Oh, Zack!! It’s been so long!!”_

_“Mom, Dad, this is Aerith. My girlfriend!”_

***

Aerith sits up sweating and gasping again. This time, there are no tears. She only sees tent material above her. They’re in a tent… and must be close to… Gongaga. It’s jumping around… How’d they go from Midgar to Gongaga so quickly? It feels… fragmented…

Tifa stirs from her slumber and looks at Aerith, “Hey… are you okay?”

Aerith takes a breath, “Yeah, just had a silly nightmare, that’s all…”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Oh, no, I’m okay… I’ll just take a walk.”

“I’ll go with you…”

“I’d like that…”

Tifa and Aerith leave the tent and go outside. Tifa gasps as she looks up.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… I just… haven’t seen stars like this in a really long time… Not _exactly_ the same but…” She can’t help but think to go grab Cloud…

“You grew up near here, didn’t you?”

“Well, Nibelheim is still quite a ways west. You need to get past Cosmo Canyon… which, over there, the stars are even more incredible.” She sits and brings her knees to her chest.

“Maybe I’m getting a little more used to the sky…”

“I’m glad… I love the stars… We should look at stars together when this is all over…”

“…Yeah… Definitely.” Aerith looked at her feet.

“So, is everything okay?” Tifa looks down from the sky over to her green-eyed best friend with a warm smile.

“I’ve been having strange dreams… About… about a guy.”

“Oh, who?”

“The first guy I ever loved…”

“Oh… I’m sorry, Aerith… did something happen to him?”

“I don’t know… He was called for an assignment five years ago and one day I just stopped hearing from him… I know we started talking about this before… but do you know who was in Nibelheim five years ago?”

Tifa looked behind her at the guys tent to make sure there was no stirring, “The SOLDIERs that came to Nibelheim were Sephiroth and… a man named Zack.”

Aerith gasped.

“Are you okay?”

“That’s who… but I asked Cloud if he knew Zack and he didn’t respond to it.”

“Did he grab his head when you asked it?”

“Yeah…”

“I noticed he does that sometimes with things… I just don’t know why… I don’t know what happened to him.”

“Have you asked?”

“Kind of… I asked him what he did after he left the village… He just said he joined SOLDIER and it wasn’t anything special, really. He had a hard time getting through that conversation now that I think back on it.” She smiled, “Never got to go celebrate…”

“Huh?”

“Oh, it’s silly… I was really excited to see him again after all that time. We were going to dress up and celebrate…” she blushed thinking back on it now.

“So, a date?”

“Oh, I don’t think it’s a date…”

“Hmmmm, dressing up, going somewhere, and were his clothes going to match?”

Tifa let out a nervous laugh, “…Yeah.”

“D-A-T-E!”

“I feel silly now… I asked him out on a date and didn’t even fully realize it…”

“Did he say yes?”

“Yeah… he said he was looking forward to it…”

Aerith laughed as quietly as she could.

“No wonder he was so desperate to get back to Sector 7…”

“What do you mean?”

“When he fell in the church, I told him I’d pay him with a date. He just gave me a weird look and turned back to Reno.”

Tifa looked at Aerith, “He fell in a church? You asked him on a date?” She started laughing.

“He fell right in my flowerbed… Just like… Zack. But Zack wasn’t rude. He fell in on the side. And the date… oh yes, it was going to be oh so romantic.” She jokingly put her hands together and fluttered her eyelashes. Aerith thought back on it and then further back to Zack, “I tried to pull the same thing Zack did on me… Cloud isn’t like Zack, though… I know that now.”

“Did you think he was like Zack?”

“A part of me hoped he knew something…” she sighed, “He had the same sword… same clothes… and even some of the same mannerisms… but I think all First Class SOLDIERS do… They all train the same way.”

“Yeah… I’ve… been worried about Cloud… Sometimes I recognize him and know it’s the boy I grew up with… other times…”

“He feels like he’s drifting away?”

Tifa looked over, “…That’s exactly what it feels like.”

“You should talk to him about it…”

“I think I will… I’ll try…” She sighed, “And… can we keep the Zack stuff between us? I don’t want to upset him… if he does know Zack.”

“Right… I won’t say anything about Zack… It’ll be our secret!”

“Thank you…”

“So, Tifa… if Zack and Sephiroth were in Nibelheim… where was Cloud?”

***

Gongaga was a small, backwater, reactor town. Except the reactor in this town had exploded. Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith are making their way down a path. Cloud asked them to split up into groups to scout the area for supplies and any potential threats. Cloud could hear muffled voices. He put his arm out to stop Tifa and Aerith from walking further.

“So, who do you like?”

“What?”

“Who do you like?”

Cloud looked over at Tifa and Aerith and whispered, “Is that… Turks?”

Aerith almost started laughing before nodding her head yes.

“Rude, stop being a little bitch. Who. Do. You. Like.”

Rude sighed, “…Tifa.”

Cloud’s eyes went wide and he looked back to Tifa, who was in just as much shock as he was. Aerith was trying very hard not to start laughing. Cloud turned back and activated daggers-through-the-bushes eyes.

“Wow. Tifa? Good luck with that.” Reno started cackling.

“Whatever. What about you?”

Reno sighed longingly, “I just have so many babes it’s hard to keep track of which one I like the best.”

“…”

“I know Elena likes Tseng.” Reno laughed.

“Poor Elena… Tseng likes the Ancient.”

Now it was Aerith’s turn to be shocked. Tifa bit her lip to stop from laughing. Cloud almost gave Aerith a small teasing smile, but kept his cool.

The three eavesdroppers were suddenly startled by a voice from behind.

“Ugh, all they do is sit there and talk about who they _like_. It’s so stupid… Hey… WAIT!”

Elena. She took off, “Sir! They’re here!”

They got up to prepare for a fight.

Cloud ran out, sword drawn.

“Oh, you… you think you’re a player walking around with two women?” Reno starts laughing.

“Shut up. What are you guys doing here?” Cloud narrowed his gaze.

“Psh, like I’m gonna tell you that. I should be asking _you_ that.”

“Oh, we’re on a trip! It’s a tour to see pining Turks go after women they have no chance with!” Aerith smiles at them so nicely.

Rude’s mouth dropped open and the realization hit him that they heard him and Tifa was with them. Cloud reactivated the dagger eyes on Rude.

“Listen, I ain’t dealing with you shitbirds today. I’ve got much better things to do.” Reno sighed and pulled out his electro-mag rod and extended it, “So I’ll make this quick!” He bolted after Cloud.

Cloud blocked it, “I guess you want me to kick your ass _again_?”

Reno jumped back, “Tch, whatever pretty boy.”

Cloud looked up in the sky. It sounded like a helicopter was close by.

“Oh, Scarlet and the others are here!” Elena started looking around for the helicopter.

Reno and Rude sigh loudly at this. 

“Didn’t Tseng tell you _not_ to tell them who, what, and where?” Reno rolled his eyes at her.

“S-Sorry sir!”

“We’re leaving.” Rude stated dryly. He looked at Tifa through his sunglasses and walked off.

“Such a shame, out of time.” Reno gave them a fake smile and took off after Rude and Elena.

“We need to hide…” Cloud started looking around for a place they could.

“The old reactor is over there… maybe we can go behind that?” Tifa suggested.

“Best idea we have so let’s go.” Cloud started running, with Tifa and Aerith close behind.

They squat behind the old reactor and the helicopter gets closer. It finally lands nearby and, sure enough, Scarlet comes out. Reeve is also present. They walk closer and Cloud can start to hear Scarlet’s obnoxious laugh about something she’s saying to Reeve.

“Are they coming to the reactor?” Tifa whispered. Cloud tensed up. What if they were doing a full inspection for some weird reason?

“Don’t know if they’ll come back here… we should be okay.” He gave her a reassuring look.

“…Ugh, junk! Nothing but junk!” Scarlet finally said. She was close. Very close. The three held their breath hoping that nothing happened that would cause them to walk around towards where they were.

“I’m not sure what you were expecting from a burned-out reactor…” Reeve suggested.

“Oh, Reeve, this isn’t your specialty. Leave it to the experts. Go write up another damage report or something else boring.”

The three couldn’t see what was going on, but it sounded like there was a third person there.

“Anyway, we’ve wasted enough time here, let’s go.” They heard Scarlet turn and begin to walk away, “Simpson!” They heard what sounded an awful lot like a guy crawling on his knees.

They waited until the sound of the helicopter could no longer be heard before emerging from their hiding spot.

“Phew!” Aerith sighed in relief, “I was scared to breath!”

“I know. I was too!” Tifa started laughing a bit.

“Wonder what they were looking for…?” Cloud looked inside of the burned out reactor and saw something shiny, “Hmm…” He pulls it out, “Summoning Materia… Guess we can take this.”

“Oh, cool! I wonder which one it is?”

“Want to summon it?” Tifa asked her.

“Sure! Let’s do it!” Aerith grabs it from Cloud.

“Guys, I think—”

The ground rumbled and started to open up. A large, muscular, shirtless man emerges and starts throwing pieces of the ground around. The three of them run because there’s nothing to attack and the Summon is mad.

After they’re a good distance away, Tifa looks at Cloud and Aerith, “…Didn’t know they got mad… if there’s nothing to attack.”

“Me……neither……”

“Okay, you guys aren’t allowed to have Materia unless we’re in a fight. You’re gonna get us killed doing that!”

“Oh, you’re no fun.” Aerith pouted.

“The thing almost threw a boulder at us!” Cloud was getting fired up.

Tifa started laughing. He looked at her, “What?”

“You’re getting so worried. It’s… I dunno, I find it…” Tifa started turning red.

“She finds it cuuuuuuute.” Aerith finished for her. Tifa stiffened up and bit.

“Ahhhh I-I” she was stumbling over what to say.

Cloud blushed. His ears turned red. He looked down and turned around and just walked away.

“Oh, look, he’s embarrassed.” Aerith gave her mischievous smile to Tifa.

“I hope he’s not mad… I didn’t mean…” Tifa put her arms over her stomach.

“He’s not, _especially_ not at you!”

“Huh?”

“Guys! C’mon! We gotta get off the road!” Cloud was close to the entrance of the town.

“Coming!” Tifa looked over at Aerith and they nodded at each other.

***

Gongaga had some ruined homes from the reactor explosion. The town just didn’t have the funds to clean them up, so they sat rotting. Some of them were even still being lived in, and had some basic patching done to make them tolerable.

“…What happened here?” Tifa looked around. The entrance to the town had a graveyard where people were mourning.

“Reactor explosion… I guess Shinra never came to help clean it up…” Cloud looked around sadly.

“Shocking…” Tifa’s tone was bitter.

“We’ll pick up supplies and then head back to the Buggy.” Cloud looked around for an item shop, “I’m sure Barret is not far from killing Yuffie, and I don’t feel like burying a body today.”

“We’re gonna look around.” Aerith just ignored everything he said and linked her arm with Tifa’s.

Cloud frowned at them, “Seriously?”

Tifa looked at Aerith and then back to Cloud, “Um, we won’t be long. I think it’ll be okay.”

Cloud sighed, “Fine… just… don’t spend a lot of Gil. We can meet at the entrance in 15 minutes…”

“Yup!” Aerith pulled Tifa away and off they went.

Aerith had a destination in mind. She wanted to see how accurate these dreams were. She knew Zack was from Gongaga – he loved saying it – and he told her about his parents. But would they look the same? Would their house be in the same spot?

She tried to remember the location. She knew it was at the far end of town, away from the entrance, but in the dream, it felt like she was going in the opposite direction. As they approached the far side of town, the house came in to view and Aerith knew that was it.

“Oh, look at this cute house!” Aerith pointed.

“That is charming…”

As they approached, a middle-aged couple was sitting outside in rocking chairs. They smiled at Tifa and Aerith.

“You have a very charming home.” Tifa complimented.

“Thank you, young lady.” The woman stood and walked towards them.

Aerith froze. She looked exactly the same as she did in the dream. She looked behind the woman and her husband looked the same.

“Are you guys tourists?” The woman asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

“Yes, yes we are!” Aerith piped up.

“Oh, where are you coming from?”

“Midgar.” Tifa looked at Aerith, not sure if she should have said that.

“Oh… I see…”

“Is something wrong?” Tifa frowned.

“No, nothing is wrong,” The woman looked over at her husband, “They are from Midgar!”

The man stood up and walked over to them, “You would be about my son’s age… Do you know him? His name is Zack. He used to write home about a girlfriend, perhaps that was one of you?”

Tifa and Aerith froze. This was the sound of a desperate father trying to find out where his son was. It was heartbreaking, but also the shock of the name.

“Oh, no… sorry…” Aerith was able to push out. _“So this is really Zack’s parents…”_

“Oh… we haven’t heard from him… he left to join SOLDIER… and then he just… stopped writing one day, but we never were told if he was killed in action or captured or…”

Aerith looked down and closed her eyes, “I’m so sorry to hear you haven’t heard from him… Maybe he’s somewhere that doesn’t get mail…”

“Yes… maybe…” Zack’s mother seemed to be deep in thought before smiling at them again, “In any case, thank you for stopping to talk to us. It’s not every day we get tourists to our little town… especially since the accident.”

“Oh, of course!” Tifa smiled again, “I… really hope you hear from your son, soon…”

“We won’t give up hope… I’m sure he’s out there somewhere…” Zack’s father smiled and looked up.

Aerith waved and walked away quickly. Tifa looked back at Zack’s parents and then to Aerith, “Thank you again… sorry, we have to meet up with our friend.”

Zack’s parents looked off at Aerith with confused looks on their faces. Tifa turned and ran to Aerith, who was standing behind another house on a higher part of town.

“Aerith, are you okay?” Tifa ran over and put her hand on Aerith’s shoulder.

“Yeah… just…” Aerith sighed, “They were in the dream… They look exactly the same…”

***

Cloud walked out of the item shop and looked at the entrance. They weren’t there yet. He closed his eyes and sighed. _“Time to start looking for them… Maybe I shouldn’t bring them together… They get in trouble every time… But then they’ll get mad at me because they always want to come together… And Aerith does make Tifa really happy… Maybe I’ll just have Barret bring them next time… well… no… I can’t do that… I guess I’ll just deal with it…”_

He scanned the town and finally spotted them on the far side of town, seemingly in a serious conversation. He started walking towards them. As he got closer, he could hear whispers and only make out a few things,

“……tell Cloud……”

“……I won’t……”

“Guys?” Cloud raised an eyebrow as they both jumped and yelped, surprised at his presence, “Everything okay?”

“Yup! Sorry, we just were going to head back!” Aerith was really good at switching to acting like everything was fine.

Tifa was terrible at it. Especially with Cloud. He looked at her and she forced a fake smile. He kept looking at her, “I’m good! Just was admiring the unique homes here! That’s all.” She walked by him and caught up to Aerith.

As they were leaving the town, Aerith suddenly stopped. She took a deep breath, put her hands on her hips, and in her best impression of a man’s voice, “Gongaga!”

Cloud immediately grabbed his head. Tifa put a hand on his arm.

Aerith closed her eyes and sighed quietly. _“Yeah… he knows him…”_

***

“Man, I’m driving. Why can’t I drive?” Barret threw his hand up.

“Because when you drove us here, you almost hit about five trees. Just because this thing is an off-road rated vehicle doesn’t mean we have to drive it off-road.” Cloud’s arms were crossed and he was scowling at Barret, “Maybe if you stayed on the road, Yuffie wouldn’t have thrown up in the Potions bag.”

“Whatever, man.”

Yuffie and Aerith were snickering behind Cait Sith’s Mog.

Cloud won the argument and got in the driver’s seat of the 8-person buggy. Cait Sith was strapping his Mog body to the top since Cloud refused to figure out how to stuff it inside. It was already a tight squeeze with Barret. Cloud also felt better driving, for some reason. The buggy gave him a very weird feeling that he couldn’t shake. Driving made it less apparent.

“Fine, I get to sit up front.” Barret looked at Cloud.

“You barely fit in the driver’s seat. You can sit in the back.”

“Why, you got somebody else in mind to sit up here?” Barret grinned at Cloud. An evil grin. Why is everybody giving Cloud evil grins?

Cloud sighed, “No, I just don’t need _you_ up here changing the song every 20 seconds or playing with the controls or _singing_ terribly.”

“I’ll have you know, I have the voice of an angel.” Barret put his hand on his chest, “You’re just jealous.”

“Yes, I’m very jealous that you sing like we got a Cactuar stuck in the engine.”

“You two… Would it help if I just sit up front?” Tifa asked.

Barret started laughing, “Oh, I think you’re the preferred candidate.”

“Huh?”

Cloud put his head on the steering wheel and sighed, “I don’t care who sits up here as long as it’s not Barret.”

“Oh, so I can?” Cait Sith started to climb in.

“And Cait Sith. No Barret or Cait Sith.”

Cait Sith dropped his head and took a seat in the back. Red was already in the back and was happily stretched out, but Barret needed more room.

“Too bad we can’t strap _you_ to the roof.” Red begrudgingly sat up.

“You’re cold, man. You’re almost as bad as ice prick up front.”

Aerith and Yuffie got in the back and Yuffie and Red each passed Aerith 10 Gil.

“What’s the Gil for?” Cloud asked, suspiciously looking in the rear-view mirror.

“Oh! Nothing. They’re just paying me back for lunch one day.”

“Oh…”

Aerith sighed quietly, relieved.

Tifa got in the front seat and smiled at Cloud.

He looked at her, “Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” Yuffie asked.

“Cosmo Canyon.” Cloud said dryly.

“Oh, how far is it?” Aerith asked.

“I guess an hour or two.”

“Are we there yet?” Yuffie snickered.

“What?”

“How about now, are we there yet?”

“No! What the hell? I just said it was another hour or two.”

“Oh.”

Silence.

“Are we there yet?” Aerith asked. Everybody started laughing. Except Cloud.

Cloud slammed on the brakes and everyone screamed.

“…Are you seriously going to ask this every couple of minutes?” Cloud turned to look at them all.

“Sorry, dad.” Yuffie pushed out before falling over herself, laughing.

Cloud turned and started the buggy up again, “Shoulda left you in the woods.”

“Oh, you would have _never_ gotten as far as you have if you did!” Yuffie crossed her arms.

“No, we would have been further because we wouldn’t have had to stop and sell a bunch of stuff for all the Gil you’ve spent.”

“I wasn’t the only one!” Yuffie protested.

They drove in silence for a bit. Deafening silence… Until…

_VEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT_

Cloud’s eyes widened. Then the smell hit. Everybody started coughing.

“PUT THE WINDOW DOWN!” Yuffie gagged.

“It was Barret! I felt the seat vibrate!” Red’s eyes were tearing up, “Can we please pull over? I need to get out. My nose can’t take this.”

“It’s not THAT bad.” Barret huffed.

“My eyes are watering, Barret!” Tifa was holding her hands over her face. Aerith’s face was turning blue from trying to hold her breath.

“What are you guys talking about?” Cait Sith apparently couldn’t smell…

Cloud pulled over and stopped the buggy.

They all got out and left all the doors open. This thing needed to air out.

“Ya’ll act like you’ve never done it.” Barret threw a hand up, “I’m a damn human, ain’t I?”

“You should have asked to pull over.” Cloud was catching his breath.

“Man, you know damn well if I asked you woulda given me some smart-ass response.”

“Not if I knew you were going to do _that_!”

“Why don’t we just continue on…? I think… I think it’s okay now.” Tifa got back in the passenger’s seat, “Yeah, it’s… mostly gone.”

“Probably ruined the buggy. We’ll never get the smell out.” Yuffie sighed and climbed back in, followed by Aerith. Red refused to sit next to Barret, so laid under Yuffie and Aerith’s legs.

“Okay, we really don’t have much longer to go… so please… if you have to do… _that_. I’ll pull over… Please…” Cloud sighed and started the buggy up again.

They had 15 minutes until they were at Cosmo Canyon. Cloud was starting to feel relieved that this ride was almost over.

Barret put his hand on his chin and smiled. He whispered something to Aerith and Yuffie. They nodded.

Tifa noticed this interaction, but Cloud was focused on the last bit of their journey. Red was sleeping and Cait Sith was freakishly still.

“…The moment I wake up…” Barret started quiet and slowly got louder, “Before I put on my makeup.”

Aerith and Yuffie start laughing, “I say a little prayer for youuu.”

Cloud sighs, he thought this ride couldn’t get worse. Now Barret is singing and he has the rest of the Cactuar-in-the-engine crew with him.

“…While combing my hair now…” Barret continued, “and wonderin’ what dress to wear now.”

Aerith shot Cloud a look at Barret’s last line.

All three of them took a breath, “I say a little prayer for youuuu.”

Tifa started smiling and laughing a bit. Cloud looked over at her with a scowl. She opened her mouth and started with them.

“You too?” Cloud pouted at her.

“Forever and ever!”

“You’ll stay in my heart,”

“And I will love you!”

“Forever and ever!”

“We never will part!”

“And how I love you!”

“Together, together!”

“That’s how it must be!”

“To live without you would only mean heartbreak for meeee.”

Cloud sighed, “Okay are we done?”

Tifa and Aerith started laughing. Barret had a proud smirk on his face, “Guess I coulda sat up front. You could hear my voice no matter where I was.”

“It was more tolerable up here.”

“Tifa, you sing really well!” Yuffie leaned forward.

“Oh, um… thank you. I haven’t done that in forever.” Tifa blushed, “That was… actually a lot of fun.” 

“Yeah! See?” Aerith gave Cloud a look.

“Whatever.” Cloud couldn’t help but feel a little content with this. It did seem to make everybody happy, and Tifa really was a good singer.

“I haven’t heard that song in forever!” Tifa looked back at the rest of them.

“Yeah, that was a good play…” Aerith sighed and leaned back a bit.

“Yeah, it was. I took Marlene once.” Barret smiled at the memory.

Cloud saw Cosmo Canyon.

He sighed with such relief it surprised Tifa, “We’re here.”

“FINALLY!” Yuffie yelled.

***

“Nanaki?” Cloud looked at Red.

“That’s my true name… This is my home. I appreciate you getting me here… so we will part ways now…” Red seemed sad about this. Aerith was really sad about this.

“Aww… really?” Aerith walked up to him, “You really aren’t coming with us?”

“I haven’t been home in quite some time… since…”

“You’re right.” Aerith sighed.

“Do you want us… to call you Nanaki?” Tifa tilted her head.

“You can call me Red. Nanaki. Whatever you prefer. I don’t mind either name.”

“Kinda hard to stop calling you Red after all this time…” Barret scratched the back of his head.

“Yes, I’ve grown to like the nickname… So, I don’t mind.”

Red ran past the man standing at the entrance to Cosmo Canyon.

“Sorry, but I can’t let you in. We’re already full.” The guard put his hand up at them.

“Umm… okay.” Aerith frowned.

“Hey! They’re with me, it’s okay. They saved me.” Red had turned back and yelled to the guard.

“Oh, you guys are friends of Nanaki’s? Come on in.”

All of them piled past the guard and were fascinated by the large bonfire, the unique homes and shops, and the warm, cozy atmosphere.

“Wow…” Tifa was looking up at the stars.

Cloud looked up as well and stood next to her, “Haven’t seen stars like this… since that night.”

Tifa smiled and the memory was so bittersweet to her. The fact that she somehow found him again… but he was different. And that scared her. She just wanted to sit on that Water Tower again, with the boy from Nibelheim who promised to rescue her, who had the deep sapphire eyes and a dream. Tifa hadn’t realized that tears were rolling down her cheeks.

“Tifa?” Cloud looked worried.

“Oh! I… I don’t know… I guess I just… felt overwhelmed by… it all.” She wiped her cheeks.

Cloud stood in front of her, somewhat pouting, and for a moment, she swears she sees a glimpse of that boy from Nibelheim… she smiled at him.

They felt like they were being watched and slowly turned to the direction of the culprits.

Aerith, Yuffie and Barret were staring at them. Aerith had a dreamy look on her face and sighed happily.

Tifa and Cloud jumped away from each other.

“What?” Cloud was scowling again.

“Nothing, it just seemed so romantic!” Aerith sang and clasped her hands together.

“We were looking at stars.” Cloud protested.

“Romantic.” Yuffie laughed and walked away.

Cloud closed his eyes and sighed. Tifa smiled and followed Yuffie.

Barret patted Cloud on his shoulder, “Didn’t know you had it in ya.”

“Had what in me?”

“Being romantic?”

“I wasn’t being—”

“You gotta loosen up, man. We’re just messin’ with you.”

Cloud just sighed and walked on. Nanaki caught up to him.

“Hey all… Grandfather wants to meet you… but he can only fit a few at a time in his machine.”

“Machine?” Barret cocked an eyebrow.

“Yes, he has a laboratory on the top of the village. Please, three of you can come at a time.”

“I’m tired. I’m gonna sit here.” Yuffie stretched out next to the fire. Cait Sith was still again.

“You all go. I’m good. I’ll just hang out by the fire and get somethin’ to eat.” Barret walked off.

“Well, that was easy…” Cloud sighed and looked at Tifa and Aerith.

***

On the way up to Buganhagen’s house, all the way at the top of the village, Red talked about the different places, where he likes to look at stars the most, and how much he hated his father. He described his father as weak, a coward, who ran from everyone when they were under attack. The trek up didn’t take long, and they were finally there.

Bugenhagen was one of the most interesting… people… that Cloud had ever met. He could… float. It seemed he had some type of device that would let him hover over everything. He also was jolly and extremely intelligent.

He led them to a chamber. It looked like… a theater. Cloud grew nervous. This reminded him too much of the Shinra building and the vision he saw there. The one Sephiroth caused… Tifa was walking around and looking. He stood next to her. She moved again. He followed her.

“Cloud?”

“Hm?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

Bugenhagen started the simulator. The planets, the stars, the universe was all around them. It was incredible. Aerith and Tifa were gasping and beaming. Even Cloud’s mouth was open in amazement. He kept close to Tifa. He couldn’t deal with it again.

Bugenhagen explained the planet, the Lifestream, and the lifespan of the planet. The planet was dying and they needed to do something about it. Cloud wanted to focus on what Bugenhagen was saying, but the anxiety kept creeping up.

_“Isn’t this fun?”_

Cloud’s eyes widened. Sephiroth.

_“Do you think you can save her this time?”_

Cloud started breathing heavy and looking around. Bugenhagen stopped discussing the planet.

“My boy, are you okay?”

Cloud doesn’t answer, he’s circling, waiting for him to show. He’s right next to Tifa.

“Cloud…?” she places her hand on his arm.

Bugenhagen turns off the simulator. Cloud looks at Aerith, who’s slightly looking down, Bugenhagen who has a look on his face as if he knows what’s going on, and Tifa, who has nothing but worry etched on her’s. Her hand is still on his arm. This always seems to comfort him.

“I’m fine.” He finally says. Tifa slowly brings her hand down.

“I think that is enough for now…” Bugenhagen floats down towards them and turns the lights back on.

Aerith seems deep in thought and walks out of the room to meet up with Red. Tifa gives Cloud a long look of concern before heading out. He follows.

“One moment…” Cloud and Tifa stop, “I’d like to talk to the young man, if that’s okay.”

Cloud looks at Tifa and she nods in acknowledgement and leaves.

Bugenhagen floats over to Cloud, “You need not worry about him getting in here ho ho ho.”

“Huh?”

“There are forces that attempt to interfere with these types of things… they use the technology against us. I have developed ways to prevent outside interference… but I cannot stop what your own mind does to you.”

“I… I’m fine, really. I just… thought I heard something.”

“I see…” Bugenhagen seems that he’s thinking of something else, but changes his mind, “Thank you for brining Nanaki back to us.”

“Red has been extremely helpful on our journey… We are sad to see him go.”

“I’m sure the son of the Great Warrior Seto would be a great asset!”

“Great Warrior? He said his father was a coward?”

“Ah… so… he doesn’t know…” Bugenhagen frowned, “Right then… Go on and catch up with he rest of them. I’m sure they’re worried about you…”

***

The bon fire was relaxing. It wasn’t a very large bonfire, but it was an everlasting burn. The flames flickering, the occasional pop, the warm light, and the companionship surrounding this fire was enough to lull even the coldest warrior to sleep.

Aerith and Tifa were sitting next to each other.

“Aerith, are you okay?” Tifa finally asked.

“Yeah… I’m okay.”

“Hmm… you don’t seem okay…” Tifa moved in order to face her.

“I just… Listening to Bugenhagen… it reminds me of what we’re doing all this for. Why we’re on this journey… and what’s to come.” Aerith finally looked at Tifa.

Tifa smiled warmly and took her hand, “We’re all here for you, Aerith… We’re a team. We all care for you and will do whatever it takes to complete the task at hand.”

“Right…”

“Aerith… What are you not telling us?”

“Nothing. I really don’t know anything else. I just… It’s okay. I think that Bugenhagen just helped to reinforce what we’re doing this for, and that’s a good thing.” She offered a smile. Aerith was good at covering up when she wasn’t feeling right, but this time she failed.

Cloud walked up behind Tifa, “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Just thinking about what’s next.” Aerith smiled at Tifa and then to him.

Cloud sat down next to Tifa, “Yeah… I think… when we leave here, we’ll go through Mt Nibel…”

“Are you… nervous about seeing your… old hometown?” Aerith looked at them both. Tifa put her head down and bit her lip.

“There’s nothing left…” Cloud trailed off, “So… there’s nothing to see…”

“Right…” Aerith dropped her head again.

Red was laying nearby and listening quietly to the conversation. Bugenhagen came up behind him.

“Nanaki… I hear you may… have a certain opinion of your father?”

“He’s not my father… he’s a coward.”

“Hoo ho ho.”

“Grandfather?”

“Come with me… We will be going down to the crypts…”

Aerith immediately volunteered.

Yuffie stood, “I guess I could go down in some crypts…” she mumbled something about treasure that they couldn’t make out.

“Um… I’m going to stay here… if that’s okay…” Tifa said nervously, “I think I had enough ghost encounters…”

Cloud hummed in agreement. Both him and Tifa were staying behind.

The party was off.

Barret, Tifa, and Cloud stayed behind. Cloud stayed where he was next to Tifa and Barret was across from him. Cait Sith seemed to be… sleeping?

“I could fall asleep right here in front of this fire…” Barret said as he laid down. Within minutes, he was snoring.

Tifa brought her knees to her chest. Cloud stretched his legs in front of him and leaned back on his hands. His sword was stuck in the dirt behind him. Just in case.

They sat like that for a while.

“This is nice…” Tifa finally said.

Cloud was somewhat in a daze, “Huh…?”

“I just was saying… this is nice.”

“Yeah… it is…”

Silence again.

“Cloud…”

“Yeah?”

“Are you… are you okay?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“I just…” Tifa closed her eyes and sighed, “I just feel like… you’re going far away… and… I just feel like you’re drifting away from me… That one day I’ll wake up and… you won’t be here…”

Cloud sat up and thought for a second and then turned to her, “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know… I just… you’ll be here, right?”

“Of course… why…,” He thought for a moment, “I told you I wasn’t going anywhere when we were in Midgar… I still have to fulfill my promise… and I mean that now, too…”

Tifa smiled, “Hmm… I suppose you do owe me for saving you from falling 70 stories, huh?”

Cloud closed his eyes and thought of that night… which they hadn’t talked about, “That was… incredible…”

Tifa blushed, “Well, I couldn’t let my hero in training fall… not off of a building.” She looked at him with a playful look in her eye.

Cloud just stared at her. The fire was reflected in her warm eyes… his heart was pounding… her lips looked so inviting… The memory of her single handedly pulling him up from his certain death, just at the right time…

A loud snore from Barret startled them. They shifted uncomfortably and looked at the fire.

“I’ll be here…” He finally said.

Tifa closed her eyes and smiled… and hoped that this feeling of dread would go away.

***

They fell asleep at one point. Next to each other. Again. This time it was an accident and wasn’t “forced”. They were tangled up again. Aerith shushed Yuffie as they crept over to the fire.

“Again?” Red whispered.

“Let’s… leave it this time. Let them sleep. Cloud had a tough time in the simulator.” Aerith frowned at them.

“Oh…” Yuffie actually didn’t want to mess with him, now. She could tell something was off, and maybe he was a normal human, after all, that had feelings and wasn’t just a big meanie. She sat down as far away from Barret as she could. Aerith and Red joined her.

“You know, we could get a real bed…” Aerith said to Yuffie and Red.

“Please.” Yuffie begged, “I can’t sleep on sand. Or rocks. Or whatever this is.”

“Hmm… I’ll pass. I haven’t seen the fire in a long time…” Red laid down again, “But take him – the snoring one.” Red handed Aerith 20 Gil.

“I’m not waking him up.” Yuffie backed up.

Red fell asleep.

Aerith and Yuffie went towards the Inn. Yuffie handed Aerith 10 Gil.

***

The next morning, Tifa woke up slowly. The realization slowly came over her that she was tangled up with Cloud. Again. She froze and raised her head slowly to see if anybody was around them. Cloud stirred and looked over at her.

He must have been drunk from sleep, because he looked at her and said, “Hey…” so softly.

She smiled at him. Then it hit them and they jumped away from each other.

“Oh! That was even longer!”

They slowly turned. The party was standing behind them this time. Tifa put her hands over her face and sighed heavily.

“You fell asleep outside! It was cold! Nothing to be embarrassed about!” Aerith offered her most innocent smile to them. Cloud wouldn’t even look at her.

“We should head out…” Cloud said hesitantly.

Cloud and Tifa didn’t want to head out. There was a pit in her stomach thinking about seeing the skeletons that remained of their burned down village, one that they loved at one point.

As they were leaving Cosmo Canyon, Tifa talked quietly to Barret and he nodded to her, as if agreeing with her on something. Aerith, Yuffie and Cait Sith were walking down the main stairs away from the village. Cloud sighed and started following them.

“Cloud!”

Cloud stopped and turned. Red was running towards him.

“I’m coming with you…”

“You are?!” Aerith jumped up.

“Yes… Grandfather thinks I should assist with what we are doing… he said it’s important.”

Cloud nodded, “Glad to hear it… Let’s go.”

***

Cloud was surprised, but nobody fought over the buggy seats, who was driving, or who didn’t want to sit next to Barret. Tifa sat up front. Nobody else even tried to. The buggy started and Cloud sighed. He didn’t want to see this. If he didn’t he _knew_ Tifa was having a hard time.

It was mostly a silent drive, save the uncomfortable shifting in the back seats. Tifa was looking out of the passenger’s window. She sighed quietly, recognizing the landscape and knowing they were almost there.

“Tifa…?” Cloud asked softly.

“I’m okay… are you?”

“…Yeah.” He wasn’t totally okay… but okay enough, “Do you want to… do you want to talk about it?”

“I just… don’t know what to expect.” She swallowed hard.

“I know.”

“But… we’ll move through quickly… no reason to dwell on it…”

“Right… Yeah…”

Cloud continued driving and saw the opening towards Mt. Nibel. Nibelheim used to be at the start of that entrance. Cloud blinked a few times and shook his head. Nibelheim _is_ there.

“……Cloud…?” Tifa’s eyes widened.

Houses, buildings… Cars…

Cloud sped up without realizing it. He stopped the buggy off to the side, not wanting to bring it in to town. Him and Tifa jump out and run towards the village together. The rest of the party also quickly gets out and follows.

They both stop dead in their tracks at the town’s entrance. A fully built town. Not a single sign of anything being burned.

“I… I know… I know it burned down!” Cloud looked at Tifa. He looked horrified. It was an expression Tifa wasn’t used to seeing in him, “I can still smell the smoke and feel the heat of the flames. I… I know it did!”

“Cloud…” She walks close to him and takes his hand, “I know… We need to figure out what happened.”

He just looks at her. There was no way he made that up… was there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The only reason I had them sing in the buggy... was legit because Cloud made fun of Barret for singing and Barret wanted to piss him off. And I was laughing my ass off the entire time I was writing the buggy scene. 
> 
> Adding more angst as we get closer to... you know...


	6. Midnight, the Stars and You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nibelheim
> 
> “Hey, Cloud.” Aerith pipes up. She has the evil smile.  
> “No.” Cloud looks at her sternly. He’s starting to know when she’s giving the evil smile.  
> “Oh, we just wanted to ask you a question.” Yuffie snickers.  
> Cloud sighs loudly, “What?”  
> “What’s your favorite position?” Aerith gives an evil smile. Tifa’s eyes widen and she freezes. She slowly shifts her eyes to look at Cloud.  
> Cloud’s face scrunches up a bit, like he’s in deep thought. The three women all look at each other, a bit surprised that he’s even contemplating this question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are in Nibelheim! This covers up until they get to Shinra Mansion. I wanted to have more time for my man Vincent.

It could have been a scene out of a horror movie. As Aerith approaches the gates of Nibelheim, Cloud and Tifa stand frozen – his right hand held tightly by both of hers, maybe to keep herself grounded? To feel that somebody is there, to make sure _he_ feels that somebody is there? That they’re still in reality?

Aerith turns to Barret and notices his jaw is slack. He looks down over to Red who begins to walk forward.

“Wait…” Aerith whispers. Red stops walking, “We should give them a moment…”

“I thought he said the town burned down…” Barret whispers and looks over to Aerith for confirmation.

“Tifa said that too… They can’t both be lying…” Aerith bites her bottom lip, “Could… could they have rebuilt the town?”

“Usually they don’t… If they burn them, they leave them. Like North Corel.” Barret says with a hint of bitterness.

Yuffie sighs loudly, “We can’t wait all day.”

This was loud enough to prompt Cloud and Tifa to turn to them. Aerith looks at Yuffie and she has a serious and stern look on her face. Yuffie is a bit surprised by this serious stance that Aerith is taking here.

“…Sorry…” Yuffie pushes out quietly.

Barret begins to walk forward, since the two have turned and are looking at the rest of the party.

“You, uh, you okay?” He offers softly to them.

“I know this town burned down… I didn’t lie…” Cloud looks down at his feet.

“I’m not saying you did. Maybe they rebuilt after it all happened…” Barret offers, but his voice gives away his doubt that this is what actually happened here.

Tifa swallows and forces a smile, “Maybe we can ask around… see if anybody we know is… still here?”

Cloud looks up at her and slowly nods.

“Even the old truck is here…” Tifa sighs and begins walking through the village gates, “I think it’s the same one…”

The water tower is right where they remember it. Tifa’s childhood home. Cloud’s childhood home. The Inn. The Item Shop. The road to the Shinra Mansion. It’s all the same as it was before.

“How is this possible?” Tifa whispers. Her eyes are wide. Cloud is staring at the home he grew up in, then to Tifa’s childhood home, then to the water tower. How is it all still here? Cloud begins to jog to the home he grew up in.

Tifa gasps and runs after him, “Wait!”

Cloud stops and turns to her.

“What if…”

He shakes his head, “I know it won’t be my mom…” he looks away from her and continues toward the house. He knocks on the door.

A woman answers, clearly overly happy and two children are running around behind her, “Yes?”

“…I grew up in this house and just wanted to see it…” Cloud pushes out as quickly as he can.

She warmly laughs at him, “Oh, really? I’ve been living here for fourteen years. Were you here when you were really little?”

Cloud’s eyes widen, “No… I was here five years ago… I was here when the town burned down.”

The woman’s demeanor changes. Her warm smile turns to a look of disgust, “What a horrible thing to say! How dare you come around here saying such things!” She slams the door in his face.

Cloud stands there staring at the door before pivoting and bolting over to Tifa’s childhood home. She gasps and follows after him again.

He knocks. There’s no answer.

Knocks harder. No Answer.

“Screw this,” He forces the door open.

“Cloud!” Tifa looks in and her eyes widen, “It… it looks exactly the same…” She pushes out a nervous laugh.

“Tifa…”

She shakes her head and walks inside. It doesn’t appear that anybody lives there. A noise comes from the kitchen, very similar to the noise heard back during Cloud’s short time living in Stargazer Heights next to Marco. Tifa holds her fists up. Cloud draws his sword. They look at each other in mutual agreement and proceed forward.

In the kitchen, a black cloaked figure is in the fetal position in the corner and is groaning, “Re..un..i..on…”

Cloud slowly approaches and notices the tattoo – ‘11’.

“He looks just like Marco…”

“Yeah…” Cloud puts his sword on his back, knowing they are harmless.

Tifa sighs and leaves the kitchen, “There’s another one out here… I didn’t see this one before…” she approaches the cloaked figure, “This one is ‘5’.” She turns and runs upstairs. Cloud looks down at the cloaked figure before heading upstairs as well.

Another cloaked figure sits upstairs.

Tifa has a hand on the figure’s shoulder as if trying to console it. Without looking over at Cloud, she tells him the number – ‘4’. Tifa slowly stands up and looks around before slowly approaching her bedroom. She gasps.

“It’s… all here…”

Cloud slowly approaches her room, feeling nervous for some reason. Tifa walks over to a piano and plays a few notes. Cloud hears a distant melody in his head and a feeling as if he’s sitting in warm sunshine with a gentle breeze blowing. A distant memory?

“Cloud?”

“Huh?”

“…I was just saying… my room looks almost exactly the same…”

“…Yeah…” He clears his throat and looks around.

She places her fingers on the keys and plays a few notes. She takes a deep breath, “The same keys… are out of tune… How… how did this not get damaged in the fire?”

Cloud begins walking towards Tifa’s writing desk. He sees papers on it. Papers surely wouldn’t have survived a fire…

Tifa looks over at him.

Cloud looks on the desk and sees an envelope labeled ‘CLASSIFIED – NIBELHEIM INCIDENT XX02 – SRXX06’. He opens the envelope and pulls out what appears to be an official status report.

_"Periodic Report to Professor Hojo"  
  
1 Clone Activity Report  
  
Unfortunately, no 'CLONES' have left this town this quarter. As previously reported, the 'CLONES' seem to be sensing something. But all they say is, 'Reunion' or 'Sephiroth' and show no other signs of activity.   
  
2 Confidentiality Report  
  
A total of eight people have visited this town this quarter. Fortunately, none knew about the incident five years ago. Therefore, no one knows the town was restored exactly as it was five years ago. Our staff, disguised as townspeople, have improved their acting skills, and we do not report any problems at this time.  
  
That is all._

Tifa is standing to his side and reading it along with him. Cloud looks forward and holds it still. Tifa looks over at him, ‘…Staff disguised as townspeople…? Acting skills?”

“… They really did rebuild it… And then covered it up.”

Cloud frowned and looked over and her. He slowly put his head down.

“Why? Why do this?”

Cloud doesn’t know what to say. Tifa turns and walks out of the room. He hears her go downstairs quickly. He looks back at the letter one last time before following after her.

As he goes downstairs, he notices her waiting by the front door. Her arms are over her stomach and she’s breathing heavier than normal. He slowly walks up to her and places a hand on her shoulder, “Tifa… are you okay?” He asks softly.

She doesn’t look up at him. She nods and reaches for the door. She doesn’t open it right away. She wants to feel his hand ground her for a moment. To know she’s still real, that he’s still real. Slowly, she opens the door and leaves. Cloud’s hand slides from her. He follows her and closes the door behind him.

Tifa is walking with purpose to the house on the other side of her. The Stark house. A woman and two young children lived there. Cloud vaguely remembered seeing them running around when he was here five years ago. The little boy would repeat everything his older sister said.

Tifa knocks on the door. There is no answer. She opens the door slowly and looks inside. Cloud is right behind her. Tifa suddenly stops as she looks towards the kitchen. A woman wearing a blue dress and long brown hair is slowly washing dishes.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, we… we didn’t know anybody was here.” Tifa quickly apologizes.

The woman doesn’t respond.

Tifa looks back to Cloud. Cloud slowly walks over to the woman with Tifa close behind. She is slowly washing a plate, just in the same pattern over and over. The water is not on. She’s humming something very lowly.

“Hey!” Cloud finally says.

The woman slowly stops moving her hand and turns her head towards Cloud. She has a blank look on her face. Her eyes are glassy and bright blue. Cloud takes a few steps back. _“Mako poisoning…?”_

She slowly blinks, “I have lived here for fifteen years. How are you today? Would you like something to drink?” It comes out so rehearsed and monotone. Cloud and Tifa stare at her, unsure of how to answer this question. The woman slowly turns back and begins washing the plate again. Tifa looks up at Cloud, who looks just as horrified as she does.

They slowly turn and are going to leave, but Tifa hesitates, “Do you hear that?” She whispers to him and looks towards the stairs. Small footsteps and muffled voices could be heard. Tifa begins to approach the stairs. Cloud wants to stop her for some reason but follows anyway. He glances over to the woman once more to make sure she isn’t paying attention.

Tifa makes her way to the top of the stairs to the attic. Once there, she sees two small cloaked figures huddled in the corner. She begins to walk over to them.

“Re..un..ion.”

“Re…wun..ion…”

Tifa gasps and freezes. It had to be them…

“Kaitlyn… and Edmund… I used to babysit them…” she slowly walks over to them, “They did this to… children?” She clenches her fists. She can’t control the tears that start to fall. She walks over to the far side of the room, away from the small, cloaked figures.

Cloud stares at the small figures for a moment and then slowly walks over to her as she is dropping down on her knees to the floor. Her palms are flat to the ground, legs under her, head bowed. He slowly kneels next to her and puts his hand on her back. She clenches her fists slowly against the ground and pushes herself up.

She turns to Cloud and leans her head into his chest and completely breaks down. She grabs fistfuls of his shirt and sobs. He brings his hands up and places one to cradle the back of her head and one on her upper back. It was too overwhelming… the town, the fact they were treated like they were lying, the fact that children were turned in to…

He looks over at the small figures and feels only dread.

***

“Do you think they’re okay?” Red asks Aerith.

“I don’t know…” Aerith looks down, “I’m sure this isn’t… what they expected.”

Barret huffs, “No, I’d say not. At least North Corel was still burned down when I went back. Nothin’ creepy going on there.”

“Creepy is putting it lightly.” Yuffie shivers. She’s eyeing up a few black cloaked figures stumbling around town, “Why are they dressed like that?”

“They’re…” Aerith pauses, “Actually, I don’t know…”

“Should we get a room at the Inn?” Cait Sith asks.

“I… don’t know if they’ll want to stay here tonight…” Aerith says sadly and looks down again.

“Well, if they want to keep moving, we’ll need to head on soon.” Barret looks towards the path to Mt. Nibel, “I don’t think we’re gonna want to walk up narrow mountain paths in the dark.”

“Give them some time. I’m sure they’ll let us know what they want to do next.” Aerith smiles weakly.

***

Tifa slowly pushes back from Cloud and looks up at him. She has tears staining both cheeks and is flushed. She lets out a nervous laugh, “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I keep doing this to you…”

Cloud slowly brings his hand up and wipes a tear from her left cheek with his thumb, cradling her face for a moment before slowly dropping his hand, “I don’t mind…” He says softly to her.

Tifa turns an even darker shade of red and smiles warmly at him. It makes Cloud’s stomach do a flip. He looks down a bit and then back up into her eyes. He can’t help but look down at her lips. Something deep within him wants to move forward and meld his lips with hers. He looks back up to her eyes. They aren’t moving. Her mouth opens slightly and then she bites her bottom lip.

This drives him absolutely mad. He can’t move. He wants to move forward towards her and can’t. She must realize this and starts to lean forward slowly.

He has completely forgotten that they’re in a stranger’s attic.

She definitely has forgotten that they’re in a stranger’s attic.

Cloud doesn’t move, _“!!!!... TIFA…. TIFA…. IS…. SHE’S…. !!!! DON’T SCREW THIS UP!!!!”_

She’s right there, he can feel her breath on his lips—

“I have lived here for fifteen years. How are you today? Would you like something to drink?”

Tifa jumps back and gasps loudly. Cloud immediately looks to the stairs. The creepy woman who was washing the plate is standing there, same blank look on her face. There hadn’t been any noise indicating anyone was coming up the stairs. It’s like she just appeared there. He actually gets an urge, for some reason, to throw her down the stairs and call it a day. Tifa quickly stands up and rushes past the woman.

Cloud slowly stands up and gives this creepy woman the worst death stare he can muster. She slowly starts to smile at him in a horrific way. He walked past her, still debating on whether he should just throw her down the steps.

As they descend the stairs and leave the home, the woman does not stop looking at them.

***

Aerith gasps in relief as she sees Cloud and Tifa exit one of the homes on the other side of the village. They are walking briskly towards the group.

“What the hell?!” Yuffie points up to the second story window of the home they just left. A woman is staring down at them with a blank stare on her face, appearing to be rubbing a dish.

“Damn, that’s creepy as hell!” Barret jumps back a bit, “What the hell is she staring at?”

Aerith follows the woman’s gaze – her eyes are following Cloud and Tifa. As Cloud and Tifa get closer, she focuses on them to greet them. When she looks back up, the woman is gone. Tifa looks behind her at the house and brings her arms up to hug herself.

Tifa looks at Aerith and quietly says, “This isn’t our Nibelheim.”

***

It was decided that they didn’t have a choice but to stay at the Inn in Nibelheim. There was a storm coming in, and Cloud and Tifa both knew that it would be impossible to go through the mountain pass with rain and wind beating on them.

Cloud can’t help but notice that the Inn looks exactly like it did before. Whoever rebuilt this town took great care in making sure everything was perfect including the art that was hanging on the walls.

_Midnight, the stars and you_

Yuffie leans towards Aerith and whispers, “This song is really creepy…”

“I know… I feel like I’m in a haunted house or something…” Aerith whispers back.

“Yeah, like an axe murderer Inn or something…”

“Did you ever hear about that? The one that actually happened?” Barret chimes into the conversation.

“No, what happened?” Aerith whispers to him but seems a little too excited about this.

“Well… Up north somewhere, not sure exactly where… There was a popular Inn.” Barret swallows and looks around, “Well, guy got upset. Just lost it one day. Chopped a buncha people up with an axe.”

Cait Sith quietly walks over to them, “It did happen… They never recovered all of the bodies…”

Yuffie’s eyes are as wide as saucers. “What?!” Yuffie whisper-yells. Aerith shudders at the thought.

Barret continues, “Yeah. It’s closed now… they say you can still hear music play in there… Sometimes you can even hear kids playing and shit. I don’t need to go and find out. I’m just telling you what I’ve heard.”

Aerith gets a playful smile on her face, “We should take Cloud and Tifa, they love ghosts.” She whispers to them all.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure Tifa doesn’t do ghosts…” Barret looks over towards her.

Aerith giggles, “She doesn’t. She hated the Train Graveyard. So did Cloud.” She whispers.

“Oh, tough boy doesn’t like ghosts either?” Barret says a bit too loudly. Cloud hears him and shoots him a look.

“No wonder they didn’t come down to the crypts with us…” Red says quietly.

“I think they’ll avoid any future ghostly encounters if they can help it.” Aerith giggles quietly.

“I seriously just thought he was stayin’ behind cuz she was.” Barret rubs his chin and glances over at them.

“Oh, well, we should test that out. See if she’s going somewhere and he suddenly wants to go.” Yuffie looks at all of them and rubs her fingers together.

Aerith smiles, “Too easy.”

***

Cloud sighs at the check-in desk of the Inn. The Innkeeper had excused himself a few minutes ago and was taking his sweet time with whatever he was doing. He could hear the eerie melody of piano music and strings playing from the back room behind the check-in desk.

Tifa sighs quietly, triggering Cloud to look over to her.

She’s looking at a pamphlet that was sitting on the check-in desk, “They are using almost the same exact one we used on tours here five years ago…” Tifa turns the trifold pamphlet over, “Even the Mt. Nibel tour information is the same… The only thing missing is my name as the tour guide…”

“Did you like being a tour guide?” Cloud quietly asks, thinking maybe he should redirect her focus to something positive.

Tifa laughs quietly, “I guess I did. I mean, I _was_ the best one.” She lazily puts her hand up.

Cloud can’t help but give a small smile to that. She did seem to really enjoy it when he saw her here five years ago…

The Innkeeper finally emerges from the back.

“How can I help you folks?” he claps his hands together.

“We need two rooms.” Cloud says.

“Hmm…” the Innkeeper opens a record book, “I have the one available. Three beds and a couch. Think that’ll be okay?”

“I suppose…” Cloud pulls the Gil out to pay for the room.

“500 Gil, please.”

Cloud sighs and hands over the 500 Gil.

“Enjoy your stay!”

Cloud couldn’t wait to get out of the lobby and away from the creepy music playing.

***

The Inn room - just like everything else in this town – is the same way it was five years ago. Cloud sighs and sets his sword against the wall. His mind keeps drifting back to the moment at the Stark house, but he doesn’t know what it means. Maybe she was just overwhelmed at the time and wasn’t thinking. Maybe she really did want to kiss him. He shakes his head at the thought. _“In your dreams, maybe.”_

“Hey…”

Cloud turns and Tifa is smiling at him.

“Hey.” He replies softly.

“Um… do you want to go look out the window in the hall? I don’t want to go outside… that woman creeped me out today.” She looks down and shuffles her feet. Cloud notices her gloves are off, something he’s not used to seeing.

“Sure.” He decides he’s taking his gloves off too, maybe it’ll help him relax. Since they won’t be leaving, there’s no reason to leave them on.

Barret’s was resting on the bed. Red was laying at the foot of the same bed. He seems to be getting used to this. Low rumbles of thunder can be heard every so often. Perhaps the Inn wasn’t too bad?

Cait Sith is sitting in a chair, reading? How is he reading? Cloud shakes his head at the thought.

Yuffie and Aerith are sitting on the couch looking at a magazine and taking a quiz about some type of positions. Cloud assumed it must be about fighting positions and stances. He’s a bit confused on why they are giggling over it.

“Hey, Cloud.” Aerith pipes up. She has the evil smile.

“No.” Cloud looks at her sternly. He’s starting to know when she’s giving the evil smile.

“Oh, we just wanted to ask you a question.” Yuffie snickers.

Cloud sighs loudly, “What?”

“What’s your favorite position?” Aerith gives an evil smile. Tifa’s eyes widen and she freezes. She slowly shifts her eyes to look at Cloud.

Cloud’s face scrunches up a bit, like he’s in deep thought. The three women all look at each other, a bit surprised that he’s even contemplating this question.

“I mean, I guess Punisher Stance is best in most one-on-one situations.” Cloud answers confidently.

Yuffie falls to the floor.

Cloud looks at them, confused, and then gets frustrated, “What?”

“Nothing. Just, nothing.” Aerith starts laughing.

Barret is chuckling from the bed, “Sounds rough.”

Tifa looks at Aerith and Yuffie, who are still in a fit of giggles, “Be nice.”

“What?” Yuffie spits out.

“He didn’t know what you are asking about. We’re always preparing for combat, so he probably thought that’s what you meant. Right, Cloud?” Tifa smiles warmly at him.

“Well what else would it be?” He asks them.

“Uhhh…” Everyone looks at each other. 

The realization finally dawns on Cloud that they must be talking about… that. His eyes widen and he turns bright red. He turns and walks out towards the hall.

Yuffie yells after him, “I really hope it’s not your Punisher Stance!”

Tifa shoots her a look and turns to follow Cloud out of the room.

“What?” Yuffie protests and turns to Aerith.

“Oh, he’ll be fine.” Aerith turns and sinks back into the couch. It _was_ hilarious.

“That kid surprises me every day, I’ll tell ya…” Barret huffs out a small laugh. He slowly started drifting to sleep.

Cait Sith shakes his head and laughs. Red is looking around with a perplexed look on his face, but ultimately ignores whatever is going on and lays his head back down.

***

Tifa sees Cloud leaning on the windowsill and looking out at the old Shinra Mansion. It seems that some of the redness has left his face. Rain is slowly dripping down the windows. Lightning creates a temporary glow every few minutes.

“Um, is it okay if I still stand with you?” Tifa nervously asks.

“Yeah, sure.” He straightens up a bit to make room for her.

“That mansion always gave me the creeps.” She sighs and looks out, “It looks even worse at night…”

“Yeah… it’s a pretty creepy place. Have you ever been inside?” Cloud glances at her.

“I think we snuck in there once when I was really young… I think it’s also the reason I’m not exactly a fan of ghosts… Between that place and Mt. Nibel.”

Her saying that causes him to feel a zap go through his head, but he’s able to grip the windowsill and not alert her to it.

They stand in silence for a bit.

“Hey, um…” She starts.

Cloud turns to her.

“I’m sorry about… about earlier.”

Cloud thinks, “Well… you didn’t ask me the question…”

Tifa nervously laughs, “No, not that…”

Cloud realizes she’s talking about the Stark house. He chews the inside of his cheek, not sure how to respond.

“When we were in the attic…”

“Oh… Why are you sorry?”

Tifa’s eyes widen, “U-Um… well… I…” she sighs, defeated, not knowing what to say now, “I don’t know… It’s not a big deal.”

Cloud frowns, _“It is to me… at least it feels that way…”_

Silence again.

“…Should Yuffie be looking at stuff like that?” Cloud finally breaks the silence.

“What, the magazine with Aerith?” Tifa asks, amused at the fact that this subject is coming up again.

“Yeah, isn’t she like 15?”

“Well, teenage girls look at stuff like that… and pretend they know what they’re talking about. Boys do it too, you know.” She gives him a playful look.

“I’m sure they do.” Cloud says dryly.

“You’re telling me you never talked to the other guys in SOLDIER about that stuff?” Tifa cocks an eyebrow.

Cloud starts turning red, “U-Uh… I…”

Tifa looks surprised at this, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you…”

“You didn’t… I just… I don’t know much about it…”

Tifa looks at him wide eyed, and for some reason, this makes her happy. She takes a breath, “Well…. I don’t either.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really… just… never happened, I guess.”

“Oh.”

Tifa laughs nervously, “Never thought I’d have this conversation with you, honestly…”

Cloud looks at her and tilts his head slightly, “Huh? Why?”

“Well, it’s… private and I know you’re really private...”

“We travel around the world together. Guess we’re getting used to each other.” He smirks at her.

She smiles and sighs, “I guess so.”

“I don’t want to talk about it with anyone else, though.”

“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me… I don’t want to talk about it with them either. Especially with Barret around.”

“Why Barret?”

“He’s pretty protective of me… whenever guys at the bar would try something, all he’d need to do is look at them and they’d scurry away.”

The corners of his lips twitch up at that, _“I guess I owe Barret one, huh?”_

Tifa stretches her arms over her head, “We should probably try to get some sleep, yeah?”

He stands up straight and nods. They walk back to the room and look at the situation. Barret is sprawled out on a bed, snoring. Yuffie and Aerith are in another bed, together. Red moved to the couch for some reason, and Cait Sith is still in one of the small chairs.

“I’m sensing a pattern here…” Cloud sighs.

“Yeah… me too…” She sighs and laughs a bit, “Well… I guess we’ll get used to it… We can also play their game…”

“Huh?”

“Unless you want me to sleep on the floor.” She looks at him and smiles.

“N-No…”

“Okay, then let’s go to sleep.” She leans over and whispers something to him.

Cloud sits on the bed and sighs. _“Getting harder?”_ He shakes the thought.

He feels Tifa lay down behind him and he shifts himself into position. He rolls towards her. Her back is to him. He slowly drapes his arm over her waist. She pushes back into him. It takes everything in his power to hold back a groan, but he succeeds.

“This one should get ‘em…” Tifa whispers.

Cloud hums in response and slowly drifts off. _“Feels… nice….”_

***

“They did it on purpose,” Yuffie hisses at Aerith. The sun is just coming up and starting to flood the room with its morning light.

“How do you know?” Aerith whispers back.

“I heard her say ‘This will get ‘em’.”

“No way…”

“Do you think they know?”

“I don’t think so…”

“Maybe too obvious that we only left the one bed? Made Red move to the couch?”

Aerith bites her bottom lip, “I wonder how we should handle this…”

“It’s a wash… I’d say we consider it a tie…”

Aerith sighs, “Yeah… probably for the best in this case. We’ll need a new strategy.”

Barret moves around on the couch, “We should probably get them up soon. Gotta get outta this damn town…”

Red looks up, “The woman… was looking up at the Inn last night.”

Yuffie’s eyes widen, “The creepy one?!”

“Yes, I had a strange feeling so looked out of the front window. She was standing in the middle of town staring at the Inn.” Red looks over towards the window.

“Like, specifically this window here?!” Yuffie puts her fingers up to her mouth.

“It was hard to tell…” Red stretches, “However, she seems interested in whatever we are doing…”

Cait Sith hops down from the chair, “I wouldn’t worry about it. Just a weird woman.”

Barret huffs, “Go over and have some morning tea with her, then.”

Cait Sith just walks away.

“Okay, Yuffie. Go ahead and wake them up.” Aerith steps back a few feet.

Yuffie put her hands on her hips and takes a deep breath, “WAKEY! WAKEY!!”

Cloud jumps off the bed and lands on his feet. Tifa sits up and puts her hand over her chest.

“What the hell?!” Cloud stares at Yuffie.

Yuffie cackles at them.

“Another cute little sleeping arrangement, huh? I think you guys are getting too used to that.” Aerith smirks at them.

Cloud and Tifa blush for the millionth time during this journey.

Barret chuckles, “At least they find comfort in each other. Can’t say I can find the same comfort in Red.”

Red looks over at him, “Likewise.”

“We’re heading through Mt. Nibel next…” Cloud begins.

“Do you think Sephiroth is on the other side?” Yuffie asks.

“Dunno… guess we just keep heading West. We’ll eventually hear something…” Cloud looks to Aerith for confirmation.

“Yeah… that’s all we can do. Keep moving forward!” Aerith begins walking to the door, “Meet you all downstairs?”

Red and Yuffie follow close behind her. Barret gets up from the couch and yawns, stretches, and cracks his neck. He slowly walks to the window and glances out quickly. A look of relief comes over his face and he silently walks out.

“Guess he’s scared of the woman.” Cloud shrugs. Tifa laughs quietly.

“Well she is creepy…”

“Yeah…” Cloud sighs, _“and an asshole…”_

Tifa stands up after putting her boots on and stretches a few times. Cloud stops putting his left boot on and starts observing her. She is grace and elegance wrapped in to one very nice package. She even stretches perfectly.

“Cloud?” Tifa smirks at him and put her hands on her hips.

Cloud’s eyes grow wide and he quickly looks away and clears his throat, “S’cuse me…”

Tifa smiles at him and starts to slowly walk forward.

_“I’m in trouble… she’s mad… I shouldn’t have done that…”_ Cloud slowly looks over to her, _“She’s… smiling?”_

“Do you need to stretch too?” She gives him an out.

“U-Uh sure… yeah.” He swallows hard.

“Stand up, then!”

Cloud finishes putting his boot on and slowly stands to face her.

“Okay, so put your arms up like this and give yourself a good stretch.” She shows him her famous stretch. Again.

He follows the instructions.

“Now, lean to each side a bit to really get everything stretched out!”

He leans a bit to each side.

“Hmm… let me help you…” She hesitantly puts her hands on his arm and help push him to the side, then switches arms and repeats the process.

Cloud lets out a moan. He turns red and shuts his eyes.

Tifa laughs, “Feels good?”

He makes a noise to confirm.

Tifa puts her hands behind her back, “Alright then! Let’s go!” She turns and leaves the room.

Cloud stares after her as he puts his sword on his back. He sighs and begins walking after her with a small smile on his face. He wishes he could describe whatever was going on in his head and why being around her was making his head spin more and more.

***

Tifa meets Aerith near the entrance of the Inn. The creepy music is still playing.

“Cloud will need to tell the guy we’re leaving… this place requires you to check-out,” Aerith explains to Tifa.

“Weird… I don’t remember them doing that before.” Tifa tilts her head. Cloud appears behind her and looks at the two women.

Tifa turns to him, “Apparently we have to tell them we’re leaving?”

Cloud looks at her and shrugs and heads to the desk, “We’re leaving.”

“Ah, one moment, let me get you checked-out.”

Tifa walks over to stand next to Cloud.

“So, only staying the one night?” the Innkeeper smiles at them.

“Yeah, just passing through.” Cloud taps his finger on the desk.

“Ah, first time here?”

“Um, we actually grew up in this town.” Tifa says.

The Innkeepers face changes from happy to worried, “O-Oh, is that right?”

Cloud narrows his gaze, “Yeah, I don’t remember you working here…”

“Odd, I’ve been here for over 20 years.” He is looking down in his logbook.

“You were here during the fire?” Cloud decides it’s time to figure this out since they’re leaving anyway.

The Innkeepers face turns to a scowl, “There was never a fire here.”

“Huh, odd. I clearly remember a fire.” Cloud stares at him.

“I think you should leave. That’s a terrible thing to say. How dare you say such terrible things!” The Innkeeper’s nostrils are flaring.

Cloud stares at him for a moment longer and then looks at Tifa before he turns towards the exit. Tifa bit her lip and gave an apologetic expression to the Innkeeper. He stares at her until she turns to leave.

Aerith meets them outside of the door. Cloud forces the door open hard and walks right past everyone, looking absolutely furious. Tifa comes out shortly after him.

“Tifa, are you okay?” Aerith asks as she walks out.

“Yeah, Cloud asked about the fire and the Innkeeper got upset…” Tifa frowns.

“Oh, well screw him.” Aerith gestures towards the Inn. Tifa smiles at her.

As they turned to head in to the Item Shop, the woman in blue quietly rubbed her dish and watched them from the front window of her home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I listened to 'Midnight, the Stars and You' and it fit really well with this chapter. Also 'Omen' from Xenogears and 'The Nightmare Begins' (Vincent's Theme Remade) - Enrico Deiana helped motivate some of these scenes. 
> 
> How mad are you about that attic scene?


	7. You're Still in My Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tifa turns red and puts her hands out in front of her, “No! Why would I want that?”  
> “So they can buy you stuff.” The corner of his lips twitch up a bit. She catches on, to his dismay.  
> “Hmm, well, I suppose.” A smile creeps over her face, “I guess I wouldn’t have to worry about paying them for everything.” She crosses her arms and tilts her head.  
> “OOOOF!” Aerith huffs out.  
> ***  
> “I’m lookin’ down!” Barret yells and turns to try and go back.  
> “Just keep moving!”  
> “No way, man!”  
> “We’re half way there, you big sack of—"  
> “I know that side is safe!” Barret points to the side where the rest of the party is still standing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shinra Mansion and Mt. Nibel  
> Vincent is here. I made sure not to spoil myself with too many Vincent scenes yet.

After ensuring they had plenty of supplies and giving Cloud time to fight with the Item Store owner, they made their way to the pathway leading to Mt. Nibel. The sun was out, but it felt like things were gloomy as they got closer to the Shinra Mansion. The looming mansion stood back a bit from the Mt. Nibel pathway. Some windows were broken, ivy was growing all over the stone siding, and the front gate had long fallen off its hinges.

“Creepy…” Yuffie shivers as they get close. The feeling is eerie. It’s quiet except the occasional sound of a chirping bird.

Cloud is trying to avoid looking at the building. It’s like it’s talking to him, he starts feeling drawn to it. He slows down and slowly turns towards the building. _“Cloud…”_

Tifa notices his strange behavior and stops, “Cloud…?”

Cloud starts stumbling towards the Shinra Mansion.

_“Come.”_

It’s the Shinra building all over again. Tifa slowly catches up to him as he continues to stumble towards the building. She gently places her hand on his arm and he stops. He’s staring ahead at the mansion and breathing heavy.

She takes a breath and stands in front of him, “Cloud…?”

He seems to come out of whatever trance he was in and shakes his head.

“Are you okay?” She asks gently.

“I’m fine.” He sounds harsh but doesn’t mean to. He softens his look and gives her an apologetic glance. He looks down and continues to walk towards the mansion.

“Hey, where you goin’?!” Barret yells after him.

Cloud stops and turns to him, “In the mansion… I think we need to go in there.” With that, he turns and continues to walk.

Tifa looks back at everyone. Aerith nods at her. They begin running after Cloud. He begins to slow down to let them catch up – the reality that he’s about to enter a possibly haunted mansion hits him. Tifa also slows down and stays close to Aerith.

“Uh… we’re really goin’ in here?” Barret shifts his eyes between his friends.

“Yes.” Cloud says dryly.

“Thought you didn’t like ghosts.” Barret says.

Cloud sighs, “Ghosts aren’t my thing… but we need to see what’s here…”

“This place is creepier than the crypts at Cosmo Canyon.” Yuffie looks at Red, who seems to agree with this.

“Let’s just see what’s inside…” Tifa says and bites her lip. She really doesn’t want to go in here, but she fears Cloud will go in by himself… and that may not be good.

Cloud takes a deep breath and pushes the door open. It slowly creeks open, revealing the main foyer. A grand staircase is the focus of the mansion, with plenty of natural light coming through the back windows. Hauntingly beautiful.

“This place is massive…” Barret looks around in awe.

“This was the place to be a long time ago for the best corporate parties.” Cait Sith looks up to see a crystal chandelier still hanging from it’s place on the ceiling, “But I don’t think it’s been used in… around fifty years or so…”

“Yes, my father used to say you’d see them come up here on weekends and rarely during holidays…” Tifa explains as she looks around the abandoned place.

“Well it’s still in pretty good shape considering that.” Red starts to look at the dust covered furniture and artwork that remained in the mansion.

Cloud started to walk towards the grand staircase, “I’m checking the basement.” The basement… he was almost being drawn to it.

Red catches up to him, “Perhaps you should ask for some help in this place… the floors and stairs could be weak. You don’t want to fall through or get hurt.”

Cloud thinks for a moment, “Thanks, Red… I think I’ll be okay in here.”

Tifa runs up behind them.

“Tifa… wait with the others.” He says calmly.

She gives him a look of uncertainty. They seem to have a silent conversation, which Red tries to figure out by looking back and forth at them.

“Okay. We just have to be careful. Red made a good point that the floors and stairs could be weak.” Cloud’s face softens.

“I will…” She thinks about teasing him on the number of times he’s fallen but decides against it for now.

They begin to climb the steps to the first landing, and then turn to the right and head up the next flight. Cloud seems like he’s on autopilot. He leads them to one of the rooms and slowly opens the door. There’s not much in this room, but there is another door to their left that he goes over to.

He tries to open the door and it won’t budge, “Locked… Dammit.”

“Hmm… I suppose we need to find the key. Any ideas?” Red looks around the room they are in briefly to see if he spots anything.

“I don’t remember it being locked before.” Cloud frowns.

“Let’s see what’s down the hall… and then go back to the others.” Tifa suggests.

Red begins to walk out of the room first and down the hall. The floorboards are creaking here, so he slows his speed and looks down, “Cloud and Tifa, look at this.” They go to him and see where he’s looking.

“’Right 59’? That seems like it’s for a safe…” Tifa looks at Cloud.

“Yeah… which means we have to find the other numbers for the combination.” He sighs.

They head back down to the first floor, where the rest of the party is waiting.

“Anything?” Aerith asks.

“Basement is locked.” Cloud says.

Yuffie stands close to the exit, ready to run at any point, “So what do we do?”

“Red found part of a combination… so my guess is the rest are somewhere around here. Just need to find out where to look, I suppose.” Cloud begins to walk toward the left side of the mansion. As he approaches the room, he spots a gold box in the middle of the floor. He walks into the room and picks up the box and brings it back out to everyone.

“Okay, let’s hope this shows us something…” Cloud opens the box. A single letter is inside.

He pulls the letter out and unfolds it. The writing is sloppy and rushed:

_I must get rid of all those that stand in the way of my research._

_Even that one from the Turks._

_I scientifically altered him and put him to sleep in the basement._

_If you want to find him, then search the area._

_But… this is merely a game I thought of. It is not necessary for you to participate if you don’t want to._

_-Hojo_

Red huffs at the name. Cloud turns the letter over, there are three clues on the other side, “Okay, so three clues… The lid of the box with the most oxygen, behind the ivory’s short of tea and ray, and the creek in the floor near the chair on the second floor… then to the left five steps, up nine steps, left two steps, and up six steps…” Cloud sighed.

“Wait, I think that last one we already have!” Tifa looks at the letter, “It’s the only one that makes sense…”

“Yeah, it does.” Cloud gives a small smile, “So we have two more to find…”

“The lid of the box with the most oxygen…?” Aerith thinks for a moment.

“Why don’t we just start openin’ boxes. See what we find.” Barret suggests.

“There’s a lot of boxes in this place…” Cloud thinks about the rooms he remembers from the last time he was here, “There’s a sitting room, a dining hall, some bedrooms, a greenhouse…”

“That!” Barret offers and holds a hand out towards Cloud, “Oxygen – plants.”

“That makes sense…” Red starts, “…shockingly.”

“Hey!” Barret’s mouth opens, but he gives up on trying to find a rebuttal.

“So that’s one… what about the other?” Yuffie is still standing near the exit.

Aerith reads second clue from the letter, “Behind the ivory’s short of tea and ray.”

Tifa thinks for a moment, “Is there a piano here?”

“Yeah, I think in the dining room.” Cloud looks over at her.

“Well, it reminds me of keys on a piano, which are ivory, and then two notes – Ti and Re.” Tifa bites her lip, “Unless somebody else has something else?”

“I think that’s the only thing that makes sense,” Cloud says.

“Alright, so are we going to split up and look for each of those?” Cait Sith finally pipes up, “It wouldn’t make sense for us all to go to each one.”

“You’re right, we should split up.” Cloud looks at everyone.

“Okay, well we know Tifa will be on Cloud’s team.” Aerith gives Cloud a devious look.

He closes his eyes and sighs heavily – there’s no point in even fighting this anymore.

“I got an idea.” Barret looks at Red and Cait Sith, “How about I take these two, and you take the three girls with you?”

Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie look at each other and they’re all smiling.

“Yeah, that works.” Cloud says, “We’ll go to the piano since Tifa knows where Ti and Re are. You guys go look for the greenhouse. We’ll meet back here.”

He doesn’t realize what he just agreed to.

Barret nods at Cloud and he begins to go with Cait Sith and Red, but suddenly stops, “Uh… where’s the greenhouse?”

Cloud thinks for a moment, “I think it’s upstairs to the left.”

They continue on.

“Do you remember where the piano is?” Tifa asks.

“Yeah, should be over here…” he starts walking towards where the dining room was. When they enter, a grand piano sits to the right.

“It’s really a shame they let this place go… I never noticed how beautiful it could be.” Tifa looked at the large dining table, still topped with a white tablecloth. The table was fully set for a dinner that never came to be. The windows were from the ceiling to the floor to let in all the natural light of the setting sun over Mt. Nibel. She crosses her right arm over to grab her left bicep and stand in awe.

“Can you imagine the cool parties we could have here?!” Aerith looks at her and Yuffie.

“Oh man, I’d be so cool. Have a bunch of rich dudes come here and buy us stuff!” Yuffie looks at Tifa, “Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“Umm… I guess?” she tilts her head.

Yuffie shoots a look at Cloud.

Cloud looked at Tifa, “Oh… so you want a big rich executive type, huh?” He crosses his arms and smirks at her. He’s teasing her to try and hide the pang of jealousy that hit him when Yuffie looked at him to reinforce Tifa’s vague answer. Cloud has a pretty bad jealousy problem when it comes to Tifa. He’s not fully sure on what causes it nor when it will show up.

Tifa turns red and puts her hands out in front of her, “No! Why would I want that?”

“So they can buy you stuff.” The corner of his lips twitch up a bit. She catches on, to his dismay.

“Hmm, well, I suppose.” A smile creeps over her face, “I guess I wouldn’t have to worry about paying them for everything.” She crosses her arms and tilts her head.

“OOOOF!” Aerith huffs out.

Cloud turns red and opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. _“Got me again…”_ He closes his eyes and activates his last hope of winning this particular battle: The Pout.

Except this was a mistake. Yuffie and Aerith saw The Pout.

There were few things that seemed to make Cloud somewhat less awkward, but mainly competition – specifically competition with Tifa - and even then, that was a crapshoot. He was so hell bent on winning one of these battles, that he forgot that the two worst people he could show The Pout to were present.

“I didn’t even know your face could do that!” Yuffie is leaning against the piano laughing.

He sighs and looks down.

“Wow, Cloud! That’s quite a face! I bet you can get away with all kinds of things with that!” Aerith looks at Tifa, who’s beat red and staring at Cloud.

He looks up at her, with a low-key version of The Pout active.

“Cloud, you know I didn’t mean that! Why would I want to even be in the same _room_ as one of those guys?!” Tifa’s not sure why he’s acting like this or why she even feels the need to defend herself...

He looks at her and the corners of his mouth slightly go up, “So they can buy you stuff.”

She lost. She lets out a huff and walks – though Cloud swears it’s a stomp – over to the piano to start looking for the second part of the combination they need. He can’t help but think, _“She’s cute when she’s mad…”_

Cloud didn’t notice that Aerith had walked up and was standing next to him, “Isn’t she cute when she’s mad?” He jumps.

“What?” Cloud looks at her wide eyed. _“Can she read my thoughts?! That would be really bad… like really bad….”_

“Oh, I just think she’s cute when she’s mad like that.” Aerith smiles at Cloud.

“Y-yeah I guess.” He clears his throat.

“Mmmmhmmmm.” Aerith walks over to her.

_“Oh shit… she’s gonna say something.”_ Cloud starts to slowly approach the three women.

“Tifa, Cloud said you’re cute when you’re mad.” Aerith looks at her and then back to Cloud.

“ _You_ said it!” Cloud scowls at her.

“You agreed.”

Cloud goes to protest and can’t. He looks at Tifa, who’s blushing, but has that look of satisfaction on her face. Cloud’s face is just a red mess, so he gives up on talking.

“Am I cute when I’m mad too, Cloud?” Yuffie flutters her eyelashes at him.

“No, you’re just a pain in the ass.” He crosses his arms. Time to be petty.

“How about me?” Aerith asks.

“Have you been mad?”

“Uh-YEAH.” She looks at Tifa.

“Sorry I haven’t noticed.” Cloud genuinely hadn’t noticed if she’d been mad. If she was, it wasn’t as obvious as miss huffy-stompy pants.

“It’s okay, Cloud. I’m sure you’ll make me super mad one day. Then you can determine whether I’m also cute when I’m mad.” Aerith smiles at him and turns back to what Tifa is doing, which is inspecting the piano.

Cloud sighs, defeated. He will never agree to bring all three of them at the same time with him again.

Barret, Red, and Cait Sith come through the door.

“You guys ain’t done yet?” Barret stops and looks at them in disbelief.

“Sorry, Tifa was too busy talking about dating executives and Cloud was too busy talking about how hot Tifa is when she’s mad.” Yuffie shoots them a shit eating grin.

“You were messin’ around all this time?” Barret looks at Tifa, mainly, disappointed, then he looked at Cloud, “I ain’t lettin’ you bring the women with you anymore.”

“Please. I am fine with that. Please…” Cloud tries to let it sound only slightly desperate.

Cait Sith starts laughing, “He doesn’t know how to deal with them.”

Cloud goes to protest but realizes this is an accurate statement. How does a cat-stuffed-robot-thing know how to deal with women better than he does?

“I think I see it.” Tifa finally says, “’Left 10’.”

“Okay, we got ‘Right 36’ upstairs. Safe is in the room next to the greenhouse.” Barret says.

They make their way back upstairs where the large safe sits on the far side of the room.

“Order is… Right 36, Left 10, Right 59.” Cloud looks at the paper one last time and stands in front of the safe. He presses a button and a timer shows up. He quickly starts putting in the three numbers. He presses to confirm, and the safe beeps.

“What’d you do?” Barret asks.

“Put the combination in, but it didn’t work.”

“You sure you didn’t go past the number?”

“Nope…”

Yuffie comes up and starts looking at the safe a bit, “This needs four numbers.”

“But the letter only had three clues on it.” Tifa says and pulls the paper out to confirm.

Cait Sith walks up, “Let me see it.” He looks at it for a moment and asks Red to come over and hold his tail up, “AHA! It’s a hidden message!”

“What is it?” Cloud asks.

“’Right 97’.”

So, Cloud tries four numbers now. On the last one, he accidentally passes 97.

The room groans.

“Well I’d like to see one of you do this!” Cloud shoots back at them.

Time to go through the dance of the hours.

“I’ll do it.” Tifa steps up. He steps aside, crosses his arms and smirks at her.

She takes a breath and leans down. She starts the timer and begins putting in the numbers. She smiles at Cloud and the failure beep sounds, “What?!”

“You went past the numbers. Can’t go past the numbers.” He gives her an innocent look like he’s trying to help her.

She looks back at the safe and tries again. Fail.

“WHAT?!”

Cloud lets out a very quiet laugh.

Tifa gasps, “Did you just _laugh at me_?!”

“Nope.”

“I think you did!”

“Must be hearing things.” He smirks at her.

Tifa sighs, “I give up.”

“My turn!” Aerith goes up. She can’t get the numbers fast enough. Fail, “Awww man…”

Cait Sith tries with his soft paws and fails without even getting it to the first number.

Red tries with his paws, then tries with his teeth, but couldn’t see how far he was going.

Barret flexes his left hand to prepare to master this, “Just leave this to the pros.” He gets down, grunting and turning, “Shit!”

Cloud sighs.

“I’m trying again, hold on.” Barret tries and fails. He stands up and walks away from it, throwing his hand up.

Cloud takes his sword out. He swings, and it bounces off. So, he looks at the sword one more time and tries again. Same result.

“Man, what the hell with this piece of shit. Want to try to shoot it open?!”

Cloud thinks for a moment, “Let’s try it.”

Nobody else in the room thought this was a good idea. Only Cloud and Barret.

This goes horribly.

Bullets start bouncing all over the place. The language is colorful. There is screaming. Cloud is on top of Tifa. Cait Sith is running around in a circle. Aerith and Yuffie are hiding behind Barret. Red is hiding behind Aerith and Yuffie. Barret is standing there with a slack jaw as the last of the bullets hit the ground.

Slowly everybody moves to see if the safe is open. Not a dent.

“Seriously?!” Aerith yells.

Yuffie yawns.

Everybody looks at her.

“What?”

Cloud crosses his arms.

“Ohhhh, you want me to try to open the safe?” Yuffie bobs her head, contemplating what she should ask for in return, “I’ll think about it.”

Barret’s jaw drops, “How about I drop you off in the woods behind this mansion?”

Yuffie sighs dramatically, “Fiinnneee.” She drags herself over to the safe and looks at the paper.

She opens it so quickly they couldn’t believe it. Cloud sighs and looks in the safe. He takes out a small book titled ‘Cosmo Memory’, Summon Materia, and a set of keys.

“Okay, this is what we need. Let’s go.” Cloud starts to walk towards the door.

Aerith is staring at Yuffie, “………………Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Aerith has the ‘Chairith’ look. Tifa looks frightened. Nobody else knows what this is.

“I was seeing if I could recruit any of you,” Yuffie sighs, “But _clearly_ none of you have the skillset to do what I do.”

Cait Sith eyes her up, “You wanted to see how long this would take.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Yuffie smiles at him brightly.

Tifa starts looking around, “Guys… do you hear that?”

Everyone gets quiet. It sounds like… music? Coming from downstairs?

“I think it’s below us…” Red turns towards the door and slowly makes his way. Cloud is already in front of him, sword drawn.

As they approach the door, the music gets louder.

“Dining room?” Tifa whispers. Cloud nods in agreement.

“I swear if there’s some damn ghosts in there…” Barret huffs.

“Ghosts aren’t real,” Cait Sith sighs.

Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith all look at each other and decide to just ignore the stuffed animal.

***

They slowly approach the dining room door. Some are staying behind, hoping not to be one of the first to get rushed by whatever is in there.

“Yo, Cait,” Barret starts, “If you don’t think ghosts are real, why don’t you open the door.”

Cait Sith looks at him, “Fine. It’s probably just an old radio or something that shorted.”

Everybody steps back as Cait Sith approaches the door. He hesitates and slowly pushes the door open. As he looks inside he gasps, runs back and climbs up the side of Cloud.

“Hey!” Cloud is trying to pull him off, but Cait Sith is now sitting on his head and has his paws over Cloud’s eyes, “Get off!”

“GH-GH-GHOST!”

Yuffie is frozen in place. Tifa and Aerith are clinging to each other – mainly Tifa clinging to Aerith and Aerith making her feel safe. Barret’s eyes are sliding from one person to the other. Red even seems hesitant on this.

“Cait Sith, what do you mean?” Aerith calmly asks.

“D-Dancing. People… are dancing in there!” He barely gets this out as an otherworldly apparition appears in front of them, dressed in what can only be described as a classic business suit. Definitely an executive type… Everyone freezes. The apparition doesn’t seem to notice them as he walks towards the other side of the hall and disappears.

“What was that…?” Tifa looks at Cloud.

Cloud doesn’t know how to handle this, because that was clearly a ghost. A real ghost. A person that used to be alive but now isn’t alive, but is somehow still walking around, “Maybe… it’s one of those executives you like.” He whispers it very quietly. She turns red and can’t help but smirk at him. His way of making her feel slightly better, even for a moment.

“What do we do?” Yuffie squeaks.

“Let’s see what’s in there….” Aerith slowly walks away from Tifa, who easily releases her.

Aerith approaches the door and sees ghostly figures laughing, talking, and dancing. They don’t seem to notice her. She walks in the room and it’s cold. Very cold. Red decides to also follow as he notices that nothing is really happening. Their clothing is from a period at least 60 or 70 years ago. Men were smoking cigars and drinking whisky, women were sipping on champagne and laughing at some of the richer looking businessmen. The smell of cigar smoke, alcohol, and old perfume filled the dining room.

“This is… weird.” Aerith looks down at Red.

The rest of the party slowly walked in. Cait Sith was hanging on to Barret’s leg now. Barret didn’t even notice. Yuffie was clung to Tifa’s right arm. Tifa was hovering very close to Cloud, who still had his sword out.

None of the ghostly party goers gave them any mind.

Barret made his way over to Aerith and Red.

“Uh—” he looks at Aerith, “Do you know what this is?”

Aerith shakes her head, just as confused as the rest of them.

“Should we just… ignore it?” Tifa asks from the other side of the room.

Cloud looks over to Aerith and then to Tifa, “I don’t see why we couldn’t try that…”

They all agree and Cloud turns to leave.

The door slams shut. Tifa and Yuffie cling to him.

All of the ghosts begin to stare at Cloud.

“Shit, shit, shit! Look out!” Barret yells.

A large being falls from the ceiling. Its features are purple, red, and green and its tongue is huge. Drool was dripping from its mouth. The thing suddenly absorbs all of the ghosts in the room.

“What the hell is that?!” Barret yells and points his gun arm at it. It suddenly turns towards that side of the room where Barret, Aerith, Red, and Cait Sith were.

The party was split – this thing had created a wall between the two sides of the room and was blocking any hope for the party to merge as one. Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie prepared to fight it on their side.

“Guys, we’re gonna have to swap sides depending on where it jumps! Watch for the jump!” Cloud yells, hoping the other side can hear him.

“Noted!” Red yells and prepares to jump on the thing’s back.

This monster was ruthless. It would slam its arms around, jump back and forth, and even use its tongue to try and hit them with a gross amount of drool and some type of gunk.

“Stay out of that stuff! You’ll get stuck if you don’t!” Cloud yells as he notices Yuffie’s foot is now stuck in whatever gunk the thing had spit out.

This went on for what felt like forever. They were getting worn out. The thing would jump between the two groups, heal itself and drop more gunk on the floor.

“Cloud…” Tifa huffed, “I don’t know… if we can get this thing down… he keeps healing itself.” She jumps up for another kick to its head and it jumps back to the other side.

“What Summon Materia did we pick up?” he quickly asks her.

“Um, I don’t know.”

“Do you have it equipped?”

“Yes!”

“Summon it.”

Tifa complies but isn’t sure what to expect since they hadn’t had a chance to take a closer look at this Materia.

A horse’s hooves are heard in the distance. Everyone looks around as a large horse flies into the room with a god-like figure on the back, holding up a large, glowing sword.

“Zantetsuken…” Red whispers in awe, “I thought it was just a legend….”

Odin, the legendary summon, held his sword high and swung at the being’s tongue, cutting it clean off. It began to thrash around.

Cloud looked over at a helpless Yuffie, “Shit!” He runs over and grabs her to move her. It was just in time, since the things arm comes slamming down right in the spot that she was.

Yuffie is speechless.

Odin’s horse flies up and then swoops down again, this time an arm is cut off. A horrific scream comes from the monster’s mouth as it continues to thrash around. The arm that was still functioning slams and the grand piano splinters, parts of it fly all over.

The mythical horse and its owner fly up again and this time look like they’re preparing something special. Sure enough, Odin charges down one last time and cuts the thing’s head clean in half. It falls lifeless to the floor.

Odin jumps and disappears. Cloud walks over to the creature as it begins to dissipate.

“What the hell was that thing?!” Barret yells.

“Don’t know but opening the safe must have caused that thing to pop-up.” Cloud says as he places his sword on his back.

“What about the ghosts?” Tifa asks.

“I think it was creating an illusion… To draw us in here.” Red explains.

“Makes sense, I guess.” Cloud sighs, “Let’s get this over with.” He turns and leaves the room.

Tifa bites her bottom lip and follows after him, “Hey, Cloud… Why exactly do you want to go in the basement?”

Cloud looks at her, “I… I need to check something.”

Tifa looks at him, thinks for a moment, and just nods to agree with him.

***

Cloud didn’t know how to tell them he could hear the house calling for him. He didn’t want them to know he could hear Sephiroth’s voice in his head, telling him to come into the mansion and meet him in the basement where the start of Nibelheim’s demise began. The feeling as he approaches the basement door is overwhelming. He shakes his head and takes a breath.

The key slides in and a click is heard. The door opens. Cloud looks down and notices the rickety spiral stairs down. His vision starts to blur and he grabs his head. Pain, searing pain. All he can see is green. Tifa’s hand on his arm snaps him out of it.

“Cloud?”

“It’s nothing.”

Aerith approaches and looks down, “Looks dangerous.”

Cloud nods, “I think Barret should stay up here. I’m not sure how much weight those stairs are going to hold.”

“Hey!” Barret yells.

Cloud turns to him and sighs, “I’m actually being serious. These things are wood. They haven’t been replaced in who knows how long. Do you really want to test out how well they’ve held up?”

Barret looks at him, scratches the back of his head and turns, “Man, you gonna make me stay up here by myself?”

Yuffie plops down in a chair, “I’ll hang out with you, old man.”

“Old man?!”

Cait Sith also agrees to stay upstairs.

“Okay, guys, just be careful. We don’t want anybody falling. This basement is pretty far down.” Cloud steps on the first step. Seems solid enough.

The stairs are narrow, so they are walking in single file. Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Red slowly make their way down the wooden spiral staircase. Cloud steps forward and a board gives way. He steps back just in time as the board falls to the depth below.

Tifa had grabbed his arm, thinking he was going to fall and slowly brings her hand down from it. They are all careful to step over the now empty section of the staircase.

They finally reached the bottom and collectively sighed in relief to feel solid ground. The basement was very old looking. It didn’t actually have a floor, just dirt. It looked like a tunnel had been dug to create a hallway that had a large industrial looking door at the other end.

As they walked towards the large door, Cloud noticed a smaller door to the left.

“Should we open it? Might have something cool inside!” Aerith looks at the door excitedly.

“I guess… I do have another key.” Cloud pulls the keys out and tries the second one in the door. It unlocks.

As Cloud opens the door, Tifa sees the coffins inside and gasps, “Are there… bodies in here?”

“Skeletons, now…” Cloud takes his sword out, just in case.

There’s a coffin in the middle of the floor that’s shut. It looks more elaborate than all of the other ones.

“Something is alive in here…” Red sniffs around.

Cloud looks down at him and back to the coffin.

“Hello-o?” Aerith sings out, seeing if Red’s nose was telling the truth.

The lid of the coffin flies off. Everyone jumps back.

A red cloaked figure jumps up and lands gracefully on the edge of the coffin.

“Who are you?” the man asks. His voice is cold and monotone.

“UH!?” Tifa steps back.

“How—” Cloud looks at him, sword still drawn.

“I’ll ask one more time,” the man looks at him, “Who are you?”

“You first.” Cloud says.

“You came in here.” The man’s eyes bore into him. They were red. The only other person he had ever met that had red eyes was Tifa. This was definitely strange to him, “So you can either tell me who you are and what you want or you can leave me be.”

“…Cloud Strife. I’m a First Class SOLDIER.”

The man’s eyes lit up a bit, “Shinra… Do you know Lucrecia?”

Cloud looks at him and shakes his head.

“Hm.” The man looks at Cloud, “What do you want?”

“Have you ever heard of Sephiroth?” Cloud asks.

This also elicits a response from the man, “That is the son of Lucrecia. The woman I couldn’t save…”

“You know him?” Cloud is feeling hopeful.

“I never met him. I only heard of him…” The man trails off, “What do you want with him?”

Aerith steps forward, “He’s alive and… We believe he’s trying to destroy the Planet; therefore, we are trying to stop him from doing that. Or at least try to understand his plan.”

The man looks at Aerith for a few moments before turning his attention over to the rest of the group. He spots Tifa and stops. Tifa begins to feel nervous under his gaze. She also realizes he has the same color eyes as her.

The man looks back to Cloud, “Please leave. You’ve added more for me to sleep over. I have committed sins that can never be forgiven, and therefore do not deserve to leave this coffin.”

Cloud looks at him, confused, “Wait!”

“Leave.” He repeats as he lays back down and the lid somehow replaces itself on the top of the coffin.

Aerith walks over and knocks on the top of the coffin.

“Please leave.”

She knocks again.

“Leave.”

Cloud looks at her, “Forget it, let’s go.” He turns and sees Tifa who is staring at the coffin with her mouth slightly open, “You okay?”

“Yeah… just… It’s nothing. Let’s go.” She turns and leaves.

As they’re about to open the large industrial door, they hear the other door open behind them.

The man emerges.

Cloud turns fully to him.

“If I come with you, will I see Hojo?”

Cloud’s eyes widen a bit, “Yeah… probably.”

The man turns and clenches his fist, “….Lucrecia…”

Cloud cocks an eyebrow and then looks at his own fist. Weird.

“What’s your name?” Tifa asks him.

“Vincent Valentine. I was a Turk for Shinra.”

“Was?” Cloud asks.

“Yes, I’ve been down here for many years… because of Hojo.” Vincent looks at Cloud.

“I also was subject to Hojo’s torture.” Red steps forward, “He is a cruel man… I am sure we will run in to him, and I’ll gladly help get revenge on whatever he did to you and what he has done to countless others.”

Vincent nods to him in agreement. Cloud turns back and opens the door.

A laboratory is revealed. Cloud feels a tightness come across his chest. He swallows hard and walks in to the room. His breathing is becoming louder.

“Cloud…” Tifa says softly. She’s beginning to notice when he will have one of these attacks. He suddenly grabs both sides of his head and screams out in pain.

Tifa runs up to him to try and calm him down.

All Cloud can see is flashes of green, he swears he hears Hojo laughing, bright lights, searing pain all over, flashes of green, pain.

Tifa is in front of him. His eyes are open and it almost looks like they’re shaking, “Cloud.” She says softly.

Cloud is starting to see a woman’s face. _“Tifa…”_

Tifa smiles gently at him, “Hey. You okay?”

Cloud looks at her, his hands still on his head. He nods yes, but his face tells a completely different story. Tifa gasps. He suddenly falls forward and she catches him. Passed out in the same way he did in the Shinra building, but this time, she was there to catch him from slamming to the ground. 

Aerith gasps, “Oh no!”

Vincent looks at the party members for an explanation.

Red sits down on his hind legs, “He gets headaches sometimes and then this can happen. It is rare that he passes out, but it has happened before.”

Vincent just looks over at Tifa holding Cloud up. He is total dead weight on her and she doesn’t seem to flinch at this in the least.

Aerith suddenly turns to the hallway leading to what appeared to be a library, “Sephiroth is here…”

Tifa gasps, “What?”

Aerith walks over to the hallway and sees him standing at the end. He laughs at her.

“Where’s Cloud?” he asks her coldly.

“What do you want?” Aerith grinds her teeth and clenches her fists.

“You know what I want…” he smiles at her, “The same thing you want.”

Aerith narrows her eyes at him, “I doubt that.”

“Hmph. Perhaps we should explore that, shall we?” he begins to approach her.

Aerith stands her ground.

Sephiroth continues to approach her and then stop when he’s halfway down the book-lined hall, “You know where we must go next.”

She continues to stare at him.

“You will find out more at the Temple of the Ancients…. But you knew that….” Sephiroth gives her a knowing look, “Tell Cloud I’ll see him soon… when he’s awake. Or perhaps while he sleeps…”

“You’re wrong about everything…” she finally says to him.

“I am?” a smirk appears on his face, “I don’t recall meddling in things that are well beyond my level of understanding.”

Aerith clenches her fists again.

“No, I believe that was you… There are consequences to every action, as you know…” he smiles at her again and begins to walk up to her. He hands her an orb of Materia and then walks off, past the rest of the party, seemingly disappearing as soon as he exits the room. He made sure to pay extra attention to Cloud, who was still leaning on Tifa for support.

***

Cloud slowly opens his eyes. The ceiling is unfamiliar. He groans. Suddenly he sees sparkling carmine eyes looking at him and a smile he can only describe as breathtaking. He smiles at her.

Tifa blushes a bit and looks down, “How are you feeling?”

Cloud slowly sits up. She’s sitting on the edge of the bed next to him, “I think I’m okay… what happened?” He looks around. They’re in one of the bedrooms at Shinra Mansion.

“We went in the basement and you seemed to have gotten one of those… attacks.” She sighs, “And then you fell on me.”

His eyes widen, “S-Sorry… are you okay?”

Tifa laughed softly, “It’s going to take more than you falling on top of me to take me out.”

Realizing how this sounds, her eyes widen and she looks away quickly. Cloud can’t help but smirk at this comment, though he won’t let her see that. She starts playing with her fingers, which he knows is her sign that she’s nervous about something.

“Did something else happen?” he asks.

“Um… Sephiroth was down there.”

Cloud just looks down and sighs, “What about the others?”

She finally turns back to him, “They’re waiting outside… Aerith dealt with him in the basement. I couldn’t hear everything… but she said something about going to the Temple of the Ancients?”

“Temple of the Ancients?”

“Yeah… I remember Bugenhagen talking about it, briefly.”

Cloud couldn’t remember anything from the Bugenhagen presentation. His anxiety was so high at that point, he couldn’t have focused if he tried, “Do we know where the Temple of the Ancients is?”

“No… Aerith said she’s sure we’ll be able to pinpoint its location quickly… It seems Shinra is also looking for it.”

“Shinra? Why?”

“The Promised Land.”

Cloud sighs, “Of course.”

“I don’t like the sound of that place… I feel like…” Tifa darts her eyes away from him, “I just get a bad feeling about it. I know that sounds silly.”

Cloud looks at her and can see the concern etched on her face, “A part of me does too…”

“Aerith seemed different when she talked to him… Almost… cold…” Tifa frowns.

“Like she did at the end of the Midgar Expressway?”

“Kind of… but even more so.”

“Well,” Cloud shifts so he’s sitting on the edge of the bed next to Tifa, “She seems to know what he’s trying to do… More than any of us. Maybe that’s why…”

“Yeah…”

They sit there for a moment. Tifa doesn’t want to ask him to move too soon, fearing he could pass out again.

“Tifa…”

She looks over at him, “Huh?”

“I can tell you’re worried about something…”

She blinks, _“You….”_ the gnawing inner voice blurts out, but he can’t hear it.

He continues to look at her. She can tell he’s concerned, and she just wants to blurt out that she’s worried about him, but so afraid of what that could do. What if he gets angry with her? Or… something bad happens to him?

“I…” Tifa bites her bottom lip and her voice fails her. She looks him in the eye. They’re blue. Blue like she remembers. How? How are they so blue? She takes a deep breath, “I’m scared.”

Cloud looks at her and is trying to figure out what to say. Her eyes sparkle at times, like now, but they’re full of worry, “Why are you scared?” he asks softly.

She slightly shakes her head and then stares at him, “Everything that we’re doing… I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

He looks down, not sure how to respond to this, because he also doesn’t know what’s going to happen. They heard footsteps approaching the room.

Aerith pokes her head in, “Hey, everything okay?”

“Yeah…” Cloud shakes his head a bit, “You saw Sephiroth?”

Aerith nods.

“What’d he say?” Cloud asks.

“Just that the next time we see him will be at the Temple of the Ancients.”

“Ah, okay…”

“We should probably head out.” Tifa smiles at him and stands up.

Cloud stands next and picks up his sword. Time to go up Mt. Nibel…

***

“Everybody got their grappling guns?” Cloud asks and looks around.

“Yeah, but… How do you use it?” Aerith looks at the contraption like she’s never seen one before.

Cloud mentally slaps himself. Of course she doesn’t know how to use that.

“I can’t use it either.” Red states.

“Or me.” Cait Sith pipes up.

Cloud sighs, “Fine… if you don’t know how to use it, just stay next to somebody who does.”

“What are these for, anyway?” Aerith asks.

“In case you fall, you can use that to try and hook into the side of the mountain. It’ll give you a fighting chance.” Cloud looks ahead at the rickety bridge. A flash passes through his mind of falling. He shakes it.

“We should be okay.” Tifa looks at Cloud, “It’s not like we’ve never crossed the mountain before.”

Cloud grabs his head and sees a flash of Tifa slipping.

Tifa slightly jumps at this reaction.

“Cloud, what’s wrong?” Aerith asks.

“Nothing.” He says and turns to continue.

_“Hopefully you can save her this time… Cloud….”_

Sephiroth. He shakes the thought he needs to ignore this. Without realizing it, Cloud was staying ridiculously close to Tifa.

When they approach the bridge, Barret freezes and looks down.

“Pretty, uh, high bridge…” he looks at Cloud.

“The faster you cross it, the faster you’re off of it.” Cloud looks at him to continue.

“I’m going first?” Barret slightly panics.

Red began walking up to him and butts his head on Barret’s legs.

“Hey, Red! What the hell, man?”

“Go.” Red commands.

Barret is on the bridge now.

“Don’t look down.” Red says, still blocking Barret from going back.

Barret sighs loudly and slowly starts to go across the old bridge. It creaks and sways, “As I walk over the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil.” He starts murmuring this over and over.

Red rolls his eyes and continues to force Barret across.

“Red!”

Red snaps up.

“I’m lookin’ down!” Barret yells and turns to try and go back.

“Just keep moving!”

“No way, man!”

“We’re half way there, you big sack of—"

“I know _that_ side is safe!” Barret points to the side where the rest of the party is still standing.

Red pushes Barret and the bridge sways.

“Don’t do that, man!”

“Do what?” Red pushes Barret again.

“THAT!”

“You want me to do this?” Red pushes Barret again.

“No, I don’t!”

“So, you don’t want me to do this?” Red pushes Barret again.

“Yeah!”

“Okay, I’ll do it.” Red continues to push Barret as he yells.

Finally, Red walks to the side of Barret. Barret realizes they’re on solid ground and lets out a relieved sigh.

Red turns to him, “That’ll do jackass, that’ll do.”

“Man, shut up!”

***

“Well that’s… one way to do it.” Tifa says and laughs.

Yuffie and Aerith begin to cross. Cloud is really worried about Aerith because her balance isn’t the best. Yuffie does a good job of guiding Aerith safely across the bridge, though.

Cait Sith follows Vincent quickly, since Vincent doesn’t wait for him.

Cloud’s stomach starts to knot for some reason. Vincent almost floats across the bridge with some supernatural grace. He quickly makes it to the other side to meet up with the rest.

Cloud looks at Tifa, who looks calm about this whole thing.

“You ready?” she asks.

“Yeah, do you want me to go first?” he asks.

“Hmm…” she looks at the bridge and then to him, “No, I got this.”

“Are you sure?” he moves closer to her.

“Cloud, it’s fine. I’ve done this before.”

Cloud sighs as she starts to go across the bridge. He follows, trying not to crowd her out too much. Tifa is calmly walking on the bridge. Cloud gets a sinking feeling. The creaking on the bridge is much louder than it was previously, including with Barret and Red going across. Tifa must notice it too because she slows down. They’re over half way there, just a bit longer…

A loud crack. Everyone on the other side gasps.

“Oh no!” Tifa says as she starts to try and run, but it gives, and she starts to feel herself sink.

“No!!” Cloud yells and grabs her tight, quickly pulling his grappling gun off of his belt and shooting blindly towards the mountain side. She’s clinging to him tightly.

The grappling gun hits the mountain and they start to swing towards the side. Cloud realizes he’s going to slam her between him and the mountain side, so quickly turns her out to take the entire blow.

The slam was deafening. Tifa’s eyes were shut tight and her hands were clinging to his shirt so tight he wasn’t sure if it was going to survive.

His sword took the brunt of the hit, but he would be lying if he said it didn’t hurt like hell to slam into the side of a mountain. He immediately looks down at Tifa, who has her face tucked tight against his chest.

“Hey…” he says softly, “Are you okay?”

His arm is tight around her middle, holding her close to ensure she doesn’t fall.

Tifa looks up at him slowly, still clinging to his shirt, “Yeah… Are you?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“How are we going to get up there?”

“These should be able to pull us up…” Cloud looks at the hand above him that’s holding the grappling gun. He pushes the trigger and feels them slowly go up. The problem is, where he shot the thing, there’s no way they can get to the top without assistance.

“Do you see any of them up there?” Cloud asks her.

“No… but let me see if I can get their attention,” Tifa takes a deep breath, “Barret! Aerith! Can you hear us?”

Cloud smirks at her, “You really can yell.”

She smiles at him, “That’s not even my loudest.”

They look at each other and blush. He clears his throat, “Do you see them up there?”

Over the top, she made out a red cloak blowing in the wind, “Vincent.”

“Tifa,” she hears Vincent say, “I’m going to shoot my grappling gun to the side of you, grab on to it and we can pull you up.”

“Okay!”

Vincent shoots the grappling gun with laser precision and she’s able to grab on to it. She looks at Cloud, “Ready?”

“Yup.” Cloud yanks the grappling gun out of the side of the mountain – just in case – and reattaches it to his belt. Tifa takes all of his weight until he’s able to grab on to Vincent’s. She was incredibly strong and every time she demonstrated this, he was in awe. Mostly. There was a small twinge of sadness with this, but he couldn’t figure out why.

Once they get close enough, Cloud leverages Tifa up as much as he can so she can grab the edge. Her hand is met with Barret’s pulling her up. Once she’s safe, she turns and helps Cloud up.

“That was a close one.” Tifa lets out a sigh of relief.

“I think you’re startin’ to do this on purpose now,” he looks at Cloud.

“Yeah, I made sure the bridge only broke with us crossing it. You caught me.” Cloud rolls his eyes.

“Well, I’m just sayin’. That’s the second time you had to do that.” Barret looks at Tifa and Cloud.

“Well, hopefully there won’t be a third time.” Tifa laughs.

“In any case, I think we should continue. The sun is begging to set.” Vincent says and walks on.

“I see we got a new Mr. Coolguy now.” Barret huffs.

Vincent ignores him.

“Not as fun, though…” Barret mumbles to himself.

***

After making their way through a few of the caves and Tifa pretending she was a tour guide again – which of course, Aerith made sure to say how cute she was and looked at Cloud with an evil smile every time she said it – they were at the top of the mountain. The way down was much easier.

Tifa looked out at the sunset.

“Look how pretty!” Aerith gasps.

“You know, there’s an old legend that’s been passed down that the dead roam the mountain, and it’s a place where you can talk to them…” Tifa laughs a bit, “I know it sounds silly…”

“Not at all!” Yuffie pipes up, “We have a similar legend in Wutai. I get it!”

Tifa smiles, “I suppose it’s comforting.”

Vincent encouraged them to keep moving, so they all began to walk down to the exit the Mt. Nibel path.

Tifa turned one last time to look at the mountain.

Cloud swears he heard her say, _“I miss you.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next: Camping and Rocket Town!  
> And then... The Gold Saucer... :)


	8. Lonesome Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Camping, a dream, and Rocket Town
> 
> “Hey, you did well!”  
> “I had a patient teacher.” He smiles at her.  
> Yuffie gags.  
> Aerith slaps her in the back of the head.  
> “Hey!” Yuffie grabs her head, "That hurt!"  
> ***  
> “Tifa…”  
> “Y-Yeah?”  
> “…Did you want to play this game… on purpose?”  
> She bites her lip, “…Yes.”  
> ***  
> “Oh yes, please! I’d love some. And don’t forget the BUTTER! Lots of butter!” Palmer dances.  
> “Hmm, I have lard?” Shera offers.  
> “That also works! It’s my second favorite!” Palmer chuckles.  
> Aerith leans over to Tifa and whispers, “I’ve never seen somebody so excited about tea…”  
> Tifa looks at her and whispers back, “I’ve never heard of anybody putting butter… or lard in their tea…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, we're getting through Rocket Town today. We also have camping and a second time line dream! And... dare I say... Perhaps some of the tension may break here?
> 
> Also, Palmer.

Exiting the path from Mt. Nibel was a relief. The light of the day was almost gone and their feet were killing them. Cloud’s back, in particular, was sore, but he didn’t want anybody to know that. It was worth it to not have anything happen to Tifa. He had such a strong desire to ensure her safety on Mt. Nibel – like a premonition that something was going to happen to her.

He set his sword down and attempted to crack his neck. Barret and Yuffie were trying to set up the tents and failing miserably. Red and Cait Sith were collecting whatever supplies they could find to assist Aerith and Tifa with their meal plan. Tifa became the “head chef” of their journey, being the only one who really knew how to cook anything aside from a Frozen Dinner. Aerith was improving her cooking skills, thanks to Tifa, and had only set her dress on fire twice now.

Vincent was out hunting for edible meat. His aim was ridiculous. He was definitely an ex-Turk, but the fact that the guy had been sleeping for 20 or more years and still had the skillset was even more impressive. The guy was a mystery. Cool, calm, and collected. He didn’t seem to let much bother him but did have to shoot Yuffie a few nasty looks on the way here due to her insistence on messing with his cloak.

“Man, screw this shit.” Barret threw another tent pole down.

Yuffie rolls her eyes, “This isn’t that hard.”

“Whatever – I ain’t doin’ this with you right now.” Barret storms off towards the small river nearby.

Aerith looks over at him, “Hmm, wonder if we can swim in that river?”

“Might be a bit cold.” Tifa laughs, “We can test it out, though!”

“Swimsuits are being utilized!” Aerith says excitedly.

Cloud wonders why they’d want to go swimming at night but shrugs and walks over to Yuffie.

“Need help?” he asks her.

“Uh, yeah, that jerk walked off.” Yuffie says and fumbles around with tent pieces.

“You know he’s only got one arm…” Cloud crosses his arms.

“Psh, why are you being so nice to him?”

“Just an observation.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he catches Tifa smiling at his comment.

“Well… just help me, okay?!” Yuffie continues to struggle. Cloud assists her with getting the tents up. At this point Barret comes back. Red and Cait Sith walk up with some greens, wood, and some type of fruit that they found.

Vincent comes back lugging some sort of animals that can be cleaned and cooked. He hands them over to Tifa who puts a cover over her clothing to begin preparing them. Watching her skin these things and separate the meat from the bones was impressive.

“Gross!” Yuffie says to her.

Tifa laughs, “We did a lot of hunting in Nibelheim when I was growing up, so we all learned how to do this.” She glances over at Cloud. He nods his confirmation.

“Then why aren’t you helping?” Aerith puts a hand on her hip.

“Uhh… Well…” Cloud sighs, “My mom used to do that… I’d hunt.”

Tifa looks at Aerith, “Usually it was the men who would hunt, and the women would prepare everything. Cloud used to help his mom, though.”

Cloud had a spike of a memory come in, but it didn’t cause him pain. It was a distant memory of him helping his mom in the kitchen and it gives him a warm feeling.

“Well, then you should be able to help Tifa, right?” Aerith blinks at him a few times.

He looks at her and then Tifa and walks over to stand across the prepping area.

She looks up at him, “What can I get you?”

Cloud thinks for a second, “I dunno. Something hard and bitter?”

She closes her eyes and laughs, “How about a knife and some gloves?”

“I don’t know if I can drink that.” He smirks at her.

“I wouldn’t recommend it.” She hands him the prepping equipment.

“What are we making?”

“Stew!”

Cloud can’t help but to smile. Everybody in Nibelheim liked stew. It was easy to make and you could really use anything to make it – whatever was on hand, “That’s fitting.”

“I thought so, too.” She says nostalgically, “Do you remember how to do it?”

“Kind of…” He takes off his standard gloves to replace them with prep gloves.

“Watch me.” Tifa shows him how to skin and clean the animals and then which meat is best to put aside, “Got it?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Cloud works through the first one successfully.

“Hey, you did well!”

“I had a patient teacher.” He smiles at her.

Yuffie gags.

Aerith slaps her in the back of the head.

“Hey!” Yuffie grabs her head, "That hurt!"

***

After a delicious stew – the type that sticks to your ribs and makes everything feel good – everybody was lounging around the fire.

“That was an excellent meal. Thank you, Tifa.” Vincent nods his head towards her as he takes a drink.

“When was the last time you ate?” Barret asks.

“A while ago.” He simply says.

“How are you alive?” Yuffie asks.

“Hojo did things to me that will never let me die, so I don’t need to eat, but it is enjoyable.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, Vincent.” Tifa smiles at him, “Aerith and Cloud helped too!”

“Didn’t know you knew how to cook.” Barret looks at Cloud.

“I didn’t cook, I helped clean the meat. Nothing that’s a big deal.”

“Of course it was! We got the meat cleaned in half the time!” Aerith is so encouraging.

“Yeah, Cloud. It really was a big help. That’s the hardest part of the prep, you know.” Tifa smiles at him.

Cloud blushes and hopes that the fire hides this. It doesn’t.

“Aww, he’s blushing!” Aerith squeals.

“It’s the fire.” Cloud tries to say as calmly as he can and looks down.

Red, Yuffie, Barret, Cait Sith, and Vincent each hand Aerith 50 Gil.

Yuffie grumbles, “This is getting expensive…”

Tifa and Cloud looked over at them.

“Huh?” Tifa gets a confused look on her face.

“Oh, nothing. Yuffie was just wondering if the Tent prices were cheaper in the next town since Nibelheim’s Item Shop was definitely ripping us off.” Aerith explains smoothly.

“Since when does Yuffie care about how much Gil we’re spending?” Cloud crosses his arms and looks at the two women.

“I don’t. I just don’t like being ripped off.” She rolls her eyes.

Cloud has nothing to say to that because he’s not going to outwardly agree with Yuffie.

“We should get some sleep soon.” Barret yawns and stretches, “I’m gonna check-in to the tent.”

“I suppose I will join you.” Vincent stands up and follows him to the men’s tent. Red quietly follows behind as does Cait Sith.

“The last man standing.” Aerith looks at Cloud.

“Eh, I’ll go in soon.” He says.

“I thought we were going swimming?” Yuffie asks.

“Oh yeah!” Tifa perks up.

“Isn’t it… cold?” Cloud asks.

“Nah, it’ll be fine!” Aerith says and hops up to go to the tent to assumingly get changed. Yuffie follows.

Tifa looks at Cloud, “You don’t want to go?”

“…You want me to go swimming with all three of you?” Cloud gets nervous.

Tifa laughs, “No, not if you don’t want to.”

“I’ll sit here and keep watch.”

“Good idea!” Tifa stands and stretches.

The moon is full tonight, so the river is lit up quite well. Aerith and Yuffie emerge in their Costa del Sol swimsuits and run down to the river. Tifa goes in and quickly gets changed. Cloud is relaxing by the fire.

Cloud didn’t think about the face that she was going to wear that bikini.

Tifa came out of the tent.

Cloud looks over due to the movement. He freezes and stares. His mouth is completely dry. The fire is making this worse. Tifa notices this and blushes.

She bites her bottom lip.

His mind is shutting down, he needs something to distract him.

A welcome, loud snore from Barret coming from the tent.

“S-Sorry.” Cloud looks down.

Tifa walks closer to him.

Cloud gulps, _“Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.”_

“Are you okay, Cloud?” The way she says this is so suggestive, but he’s pretty sure she doesn’t mean it that way.

“Y-Yes.” He slowly looks up at her.

She’s smiling at him. Like the night she told him she wanted to go out on the town and celebrate. That smile.

“You sure you don’t want to go?” she tilts her head.

 _“I definitely cannot go swimming right now…. Unless the water is really cold.”_ Cloud shakes his head.

“Okay, well, I feel better that you’ll be keeping watch.” She smiles and jogs of towards the other two women. She turns for a moment to say, “We won’t be too long!”

Cloud sighs, _“This is normal, right? It’s normal to feel like this, right? What if she thinks I’m being weird? Am I being weird?”_

Cloud looks up to see the three women swimming around and splashing. The moonlight catches her face every so often, and its magnificent.

***

The girls all came back about 20 minutes later. Cloud made sure to look at the stars instead. This was safe. They all got changed and hung their wet swimsuits near the fire to dry. Yuffie passed out as soon as she got back. Aerith and Tifa came back out to sit with Cloud for a bit.

“Was it cold?” he asked.

“Not as bad as I thought it would be.” Tifa replies.

“No, it was nice!” Aerith says.

“Glad to hear it.” Cloud replies as he stares at the fire.

They sit for a bit. Cloud was feeling tired after today but didn’t want to leave those two up by themselves. Luckily, Tifa suggests they go to sleep.

Cloud walked over to the men’s tent and opened it. Unless he wanted to sleep on top of Barret, there wasn’t an inch of room with the way they had it set up. He sighs loudly and walks back over to the fire.

“Looks like I’m sleeping outside.” He says quietly to himself.

Not quietly enough, apparently. Aerith pops her head out, “Whatcha doing out here?”

“Uh, the other tent is full. Its fine. I can sleep out here.” Cloud replies. He knows what’s next. He’s gotten good at this game.

“Well, you could always sleep in our tent! There’s plenty of room in here!”

He just looks at her and sighs, “If you guys are okay with that.”

“Of course we are!” She looks back in the tent, “Tifa, Cloud’s going to sleep there.”

He hears Tifa agree. Cloud gets up and goes over to the girl’s tent. There is a spot reserved for him, apparently. Next to Tifa. Of course.

This doesn’t actually bother him. At all. He just doesn’t want to make it obvious that he’s enjoying it. Especially because he doesn’t want Tifa to think he’s being weird. Definitely not that.

Cloud lays down and faces the tent wall. Tifa is facing Aerith.

Aerith looks at Tifa and takes her hand.

“Huh?” Tifa asks her.

“Let’s sleep like this…” she smiles back at her.

“O-Okay.” Tifa is confused but doesn’t mind it.

She drifts off to sleep easily.

***

_Zack did a few squats as he looked around the good-sized hotel room. Aerith, Tifa, and Cloud piled in behind him._

_“It’s like a vacation, guys!” He says excitedly._

_“Yeah, the rocket was sooo cool!” Aerith looks out of the window to see if she can get a view of it._

_Tifa walked over to stand next to Aerith, “You can kind of see it from here.”_

_Cloud put down some of their stuff and sat on one of the beds._

_“You tired?” Zack asks him._

_“A little.” Cloud says._

_“Nah, we gotta hang out for a bit before you snooze!”_

_“Yeah. I can stay up I think.”_

_Tifa turns to them, “What do you want to do?”_

_“Hmmmm.” Zack crosses his arms and starts thinking, “Well let’s put some of this stuff away so we have room.”_

_Cloud gets a very concerned look on his face and looks at Zack, “What are we doing?”_

_“Nothing, just putting the stuff away.”_

_Cloud narrows his eyes at Zack._

_Tifa walks over to the closet and opens it. She begins to put some of their stuff in there to get it out of the way._

_“You should go help her.” Zack flashes a smile._

_Cloud sighs and walks over to her._

_Zack waits for the perfect line up._

_Tifa is partially in the closet and Cloud is behind her. Zack casually walks over and pushes Cloud right in to Tifa and they both topple into the closet. He shuts the door quickly and puts a desk chair under the doorknob._

_“HEY!” Cloud yells, “ZACK!”_

_Zack gives a victory sigh and brushes his hands in a job well done. Aerith looks at him and crosses her arms._

_“The tension must be resolved.” Zack explains like a medical expert, “This is the only way.”_

_Aerith laughs, “He’s going to kill you.”_

_The door to the closet is shaking with Cloud’s constant failed attempts to open it._

***

Cloud is sleeping soundly next to Tifa, but not facing her. He starts to stir and turns towards her. His arm touches her back and he settles back in.

***

_“I’m going to kill him,” Cloud says through his teeth._

_“Why did he do that?” Tifa asks._

_Cloud sighs, “I don’t know.”_

_Tifa sighs and sits down on the floor. There’s very little light coming in, but he can see her face. She doesn’t seem upset. At all. For some reason._

_Cloud gives up on trying to open the closet door. Especially since he’s pretty sure he broke the doorknob and now he’s not sure when the hell they’ll be “allowed” out of there. He sits down next to Tifa._

_“Guess we’re sleeping in here.” She says and laughs._

_“I guess so…”_

_Cloud’s heart is pounding. He knows exactly why he did this. He’s been pushing Cloud to make a move on Tifa, and he hasn’t. Not that he doesn’t want to… it’s just… what if she gets mad or doesn’t feel the same way?_

_“You wanna play a game?” she whispers to him._

_“What kind of game?” he whispers back._

_“Hmm… never have I ever?”_

_Cloud’s eyes widen, “U-Uh sure…”_

_“Okay, you first.” She says._

_“Um… never have I ever…” Cloud thinks._

_Tifa looks at him eagerly._

_“…passed out drunk?” Cloud offers._

_“Really? And you’re friends with him?”_

_Cloud laughs a bit, “Never got that bad, no.”_

_“I haven’t either, so… My turn… Hmm… Okay…” Tifa thinks, “Never have I ever… been kissed.”_

_Cloud looks at her, a look of surprise on his face, “Really?”_

_“Yup. Never been kissed.”_

_“Oh…” He clears his throat, “Neither have I.”_

_Tifa looks at him and gets closer, “Do you want to be?”_

_His eyes widen, “U-Uh…”_

_“It’s okay if you don’t…” she starts to sit back._

_“No!” He flinches at how desperate this sounds, “I-I do.”_

_She sits up near him and brings her face a few inches from his, looking at his eyes, and then his lips._

_He needs to do something, right? He can tell she’s nervous, and she’s not moving any closer now. He swears she’s looking at his lips. He knows he’s looking at hers._

_He has no idea what he’s doing, he’s never done this before. But neither has she, so that’s okay, right? He’s going to screw it up if he tries to do something. There’s no --_

_Her lips meet his and his eyes are wide with shock. She brings her hand up to his face._

_She slowly pulls back and they look at each other for a moment._

_“Tifa…”_

_“Y-Yeah?”_

_“…Did you want to play this game… on purpose?”_

_She bites her lip, “…Yes.”_

_He looks at her and a smile creeps over his face right as he moves forward again to kiss her._

_There is something deep within him that feels like it’s on fire. His chest is full. It’s like he’s suddenly on autopilot. He places his hand on her back to pull her closer. She slides into his lap._

_The years of pent up pining seem to explode. The tension, flirting, and looks that the two have given each other since he showed up in Midgar again have been noticed by everybody except them._

_He brings his hand up to her face and slowly slides it down to her neck to try and pull her even closer. He feels her tongue slip across his lips and he gladly accepts it._

_She moans into his mouth._

_He’s done. His brain completely shuts down._

_She pulls back slowly. They’re both breathing heavy, trying to catch their breath. Faces are red as can be. Her hands are gripping his shoulders. She bites her bottom lip and looks him in the eye._

_That drives him mad, so he kisses her again, gently pulling her bottom lip with his teeth._

_She gasps and goes back for more._

_Neither of them feel like they’re close enough._

_She grinds down on him, and he lets out a moan he didn’t even know he could produce. She shoots back and looks at him, eyes full of passion, mouth open wide._

_“S-Sorry.”_

_“Why? I liked it.”_

_His eyes widen and she starts kissing him again._

_He’s hoping that nobody heard that._

_But he really hopes somebody in particular didn’t hear that…_

_~~~~~~~~~~_

_Zack has his hand over his mouth, eyes wide, looking at Aerith._

_“Did you hear that?!” He whispers to her._

_“Shh, don’t tease him too much!” Aerith scolds, “Isn’t this what you wanted?”_

_“I just thought they’d kiss, not… you know.”_

_“Well we don’t know if they’re doing that! Maybe it’s a very passionate kiss!”_

_“Hmm…” Zack thinks for a moment, “Should we leave them in there?”_

_“Why not? I think if you open the door right now we may be planning your funeral.” She laughs quietly._

_“Who would be the initiating murderer?”_

_“Based on the noises coming out of there, I’d say it would be a joint effort.”_

_Zack smiles at her, “You know there’s another joint effort we can do…”_

***

Tifa’s eyes fly open and she’s facing Cloud. Cloud’s eyes fly open. They are staring at each other, wide eyed, for what feels like way too long. Aerith pops her head up over Tifa’s shoulder.

“Good morning! Did you have a good sleep?” Evil smile Aerith is active.

Cloud looks at her, puzzled, but also suspicious and maybe a little scared.

Tifa finally sits up and looks at Aerith, very red faced.

“Tifa, are you okay?” Aerith asks while still smiling.

“O-Oh! Y-Yeah!” She looks down.

“Did you have a really good dream or something?” Aerith asks. Cloud is still laying down, somewhat in the fetal position.

“Umm… yes… it was a good dream.” She can’t stop herself from smiling.

Cloud’s eyes widen a bit and he looks at her, _“It can’t be the same dream… I don’t think that’s possible…”_

Aerith spots Cloud’s reaction and smiles even more brightly.

He slowly gets up, “U-Um I’m gonna go outside so you guys can get ready or whatever.” He gives Tifa one last glance before exiting the tent.

Aerith waits to hear him walk far enough away before turning back to Tifa, “Soooo, what kind of dream did you have?”

“It’s embarrassing…” she checks to make sure Yuffie isn’t there, and it seems that she’s already outside.

“Did it have anything… to do with a closet and Cloud?” Aerith’s eyes brighten even more and her smile gets more ridiculous.

“WHAT?! HOW DO—” Tifa stops and thinks.

“The dreams I told you about? I wanted to see if you could see them too… if I held your hand.”

“So… were you in the closet too?” Tifa turns even more red.

“Oh, no! I was outside!”

“Oh… so Zack really pushed us in the closet?”

“Yes… he also heard some interesting sounds at the end.”

Tifa’s eyes widen, “Uhhhh.”

“I think Cloud had the dream too!”

“HOW?!”

“Did you see how nervous he was?”

“Umm… I guess… But we weren’t holding hands?”

Aerith sighs, “You should ask him about it…”

“I can’t do that! What if he didn’t have the same dream and I tell him I had a dream like that?!”

“Oh please, like he’s never had a dream like that about you.”

“I doubt it!” Tifa is super red now.

Aerith sighs loudly, “Hopeless.”

Cloud was staring out at the river, _“Must have been some kind of bad fruit they brought back last night… I’ll need to find out what fruit it was…”_

***

“How unique,” Vincent starts, “A town with a rocket in it called Rocket Town.”

“Was… was that a joke?” Yuffie is surprised.

Vincent just looks at her and walks away.

Yuffie rolls her eyes, “Yeah, another one with Mr. Coolguy syndrome but he actually doesn’t have the fake disease of Lameguy-but-I-think-I’m-Coolguy syndrome.” She shoots a dirty look at Cloud.

He rolls his eyes.

“So, we need to find a way to get to the southern continent in order to find the Temple of the Ancients… and we have no way of flying. This town should have a pilot that can get us over there.” Aerith explains.

“And we can just go into the Temple of the Ancients once we get there?” Cloud asks.

Cait Sith steps forward, “You need the Keystone in order to open the entrance.” 

Cloud is about to ask him something, but he’s cut off.

“At least that’s what the legends say.” Cait Sith adds quickly.

Aerith thinks for a moment, “Well, my guess is if we’re looking for it, Shinra is too… so we need to figure out where it is before they get their hands on it.”

“Man, what the hell are they gonna do there?” Barret asks.

“Seek the Promised Land.” Red interjects.

“In any case, let’s start trying to figure out where this pilot lives. They say he does last minute requests… so…” Aerith begins to look towards the buildings in the town.

The homes are notable. They’re much larger than homes in some of the other areas they’ve visited. They’re significantly larger than anything in Midgar – with the exception of Elmyra’s house, that is. This is a very simple backwater town that happens to have a massive, rusty rocket looming over it.

An older gentleman is standing and staring up at the rocket in awe. Cloud approaches him and the man turns to him, “Would you like to look at the rocket with me?”

Cloud thinks for a second, “Yeah, sure.” He stands looking at the rocket with the old man for a few minutes.

“Thank you, son. That was very nice. Usually people just keep on walking, but you took the time to just observe the beauty and give me a bit of company. Come back anytime you want to look at the rocket.” He smiles at Cloud.

“Uh, yeah, no problem…” Cloud goes to walk away and bumps in to Aerith.

“Heya!”

“Oh, sorry…”

“No problem. That was nice of you to stand with the old man!”

“Yeah, well… no big deal.”

“What do you think, Tifa?” she looks around Cloud.

Tifa freezes, not expecting to be called out, “O-Oh! Yes, I did think that was really nice of you, Cloud.”

He turns to her and smiles slightly. His cheeks are obviously flushed.

“Do you know where the pilot is?” Cloud finally asks Aerith.

“Nope.”

He looks at her and blinks a few times.

“Well, we can just look around, maybe we’ll see some type of sign or something?” Tifa offers.

“Maybe ask a few people?” Cloud adds.

“Woah, you want to talk to people?” Aerith smiles.

“If it gets us a pilot faster, sure.”

The three walk around town. Tifa can’t help but be reminded of the Nibelheim – the real Nibelheim – that she grew up in.

They spot Barret and Vincent near the Inn and he waves at them. As they approach, Barret says, “Hey, pilot should be in the house over there. They call him The Captain, so that’s who we’re lookin’ for.”

“Oh, thanks Barret!” Aerith smiles at him.

“It looks like just a normal house, not a business.” Tifa looks at Barret, seemingly confused.

“I’m just goin’ by what the guy at the Inn said.” Barret shrugs, “Won’t hurt to see if anybody is there.”

“Yeah, let’s go check.” Cloud begins walking to the house. Aerith hops in front of him and knocks on the door.

A woman wearing glasses and a lab coat answers, “Yes?”

“We heard The Captain lives here?” Aerith smiles warmly at her.

“Oh, yes! Are you from Shinra?” She looks at all of them.

“Uhh… no. We’re actually looking to get a flight.” Cloud says.

“Oh… well come in. He should be back soon. I’m sure he can do something for you later.” Shera opens the door and asks them to come in.

The crew piles into the home. It’s cozy, and the rooms feel much larger than what they’ve seen in the past in other areas. It is similar to Nibelheim in many ways, such as the way the homes are laid out. The mountain towns all seem to have a similar way of building their homes and businesses. The atmosphere was different – much more industrial and the people were a bit more harsh and forward.

“He’s probably nervous,” Shera started, “I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

“May I ask why you were asking if we were from Shinra?” Vincent asks, “It is surprising they’d come to a town this far from Midgar.”

“Well, they’re coming today to talk about the Space Program with The Captain… President Shinra himself will be here.”

“Rufus?” Cloud asks.

“Yes. They should be here any time now…” Shera pauses, “Actually, I hate to ask but… Do you think you could go over to the rocket and see if he’s over there? You can tell him I sent you and you are a customer.”

“Yeah, sure.” Cloud looks at the rest and they begin to walk out.

“Thank you, I would go, but I don’t want to miss Shinra in case they come here first.” She smiles at them.

***

The rocket looked a bit more impressive up close, but was still a rusty, crooked mess.

“Ooo, we get to go in the rocket?!” Aerith asks excitedly.

“Yeah, but don’t touch anything.” Cloud says.

Tifa laughs, “I doubt we will be able to touch anything…”

“I’m just saying…” Cloud thought back to the Gongaga Titan Summon Materia incident.

They made their way to the stairs and went to the entrance to the rocket. A blonde-haired man stood inside, tinkering with something.

“Excuse me.” Aerith says, “Are you The Captain?”

The man turns around, smoking a cigarette, “Yeah. Name’s Cid Highwind, The Captain of this town and anywhere else I feel like being The Captain at.”

“Nice to meet you, Cid!” Aerith smiles at him.

Cloud looks around, “Tell me about the rocket.”

Tifa and Aerith look at each other, somewhat confused.

Cid smiles wide, “You got good taste for a kid! This is Shinra No. 26! Baby was supposed to go to space… Well, I still hope she goes to space!”

“Cool.” Cloud says. He is genuinely interested in this – mechanics and machines are something that have always interested him.

“What can I do for you folks?” Cid asks as he wipes his hands on a rag.

“We were told you would be here and that we should come by to see if you could fly us somewhere?” Tifa asks.

“We need a pilot.” Cloud says.

“Well, don’t know if I can do it today, but if Shinra shows up and give me good news, maybe I’ll hold off on my celebratory drinking to get you kids wherever you need to go. Unless you don’t mind me throwing back a few while I do?” He grins at them, “Nah, I’m kidding, I ain’t going to lose my damn license, so we’ll see how long I last not downing some good ol’ bourbon.”

“Okay…” Cloud has no idea how to handle this.

“How much Gil would it require for us to secure a flight today?” Vincent asks finally.

“Wow, you’re one of those refined fellas aren’t ya?” Cid sighs, “How about 5,000? That’ll give me a bit to really enjoy the hell outta myself when I get back. So long as it’s only a few hours, that is.”

“Well, guess that’s not so bad.” Cloud thinks, “Alright, we can do that if it guarantees us a flight…”

“Great! Alright, head back down to Shera and I’ll meet you there in a few. Just want to finish up a few things here.” Cid turns back and starts his tinkering again.

The group begins to walk back to Shera’s house – and Cid’s house?

“He’s an interesting guy…” Tifa says.

“Yeah, typical mechanic type.” Barret says, “Seen a lot of ‘em around these parts. Even in Midgar they’re pretty rough around the edges.”

“I don’t care what he’s like as long as he gets us to where we need to go.” Cloud starts, “And doesn’t kill us in the process…”

“It’ll be fine!” Aerith says, “Besides, maybe he’ll let us enjoy a few on the way there!”

“Uh, do you think that’s a good idea?” Cloud cocks an eyebrow at her.

“Why not? It’s not like I’m saying we should get _drunk_ just a little happy buzz!” Aerith sings.

“I could go for a few, to be honest with ya.” Barret laughs, “This has already been one hell of a journey, can’t imagine what the hell is gonna happen next anymore.”

“Yuffie isn’t allowed to drink.” Vincent says flatly, “Please.”

“She’s 15. I think.” Cloud says, “She won’t be drinking. I don’t need to go to prison.”

“I see why she calls you dad.” Aerith laughs.

Cloud gives Aerith a dirty look.

“It’s funny…” Tifa laughs a bit, “But you do look out for all of us, whether you want to admit it or not…” She smiles at him.

Cloud blushes and looks away from everyone, “U-Um… I guess… I’m just doing what I have to.”

“You think Red drinks?” Barret asks.

Aerith laughs, “We can put it in a small dish for him to enjoy with us!”

“I can’t imagine… lapping up my liquor.” Barret says and starts laughing, “I prefer to chug.”

“I’m sure you do.” Cloud says flatly.

“What? I could drink you under a table skinny boy!” Barret smirks at Cloud.

“Go for it. I won’t be the one under the table, though.” Cloud continues to walk ahead.

Barret opens his mouth but realizes there’s no use.

They finally make their way back to Shera and Cid’s house and notice that Yuffie, Red, and Cait Sith are standing outside of it.

“What’s up?” Cloud asks Red.

“We were waiting for you. Shera told us you should be back soon.” Red explains.

“How long do we need to wait?” Yuffie whines, “This town is boring and smells.”

A few locals shoot them dirty looks.

“He should be here in a few minutes, he said.” Tifa tries to avoid eye contact with the locals.

“Here he comes.” Vincent says and points to the path from the rocket.

As Cid approaches, he throws his hands up, “What the hell are you standing outside for?”

“Uh, we were waiting for you?” Tifa questions what the problem is.

“SHERA!” Cid yells.

The door flies open, “Yes, Captain?”

“You didn’t invite them in?!”

“Sorry, I didn’t know they were back.” Shera smiles weakly at them, “Please, come in and make yourselves at home.”

They all blink a few times, not sure how to respond to this, but walk into the home and settle in a bit.

“You don’t even have any goddamn tea on?!” Cid yells at her. Barret is gritting his teeth. Vincent is staring at him with more expression on his face than anybody has seen since he’s joined the party.

“I’m sorry. I’m doing it now.” Shera says and turns to the kitchen to begin tea preparation.

“You really don’t have to—” Cloud starts.

“Is my hospitality not good enough for ya? Sit down and drink your _GODDAMN TEA_!”

Cloud’s eyes widen, but he follows the instructions and sits down.

Cid plops down in a chair and throws his feet up on the table, “Anyway, where you guys headin’?” He lights a cigarette.

“Uh, the Temple of the Ancients…” Cloud says.

“Where the hell is that at?” Cid looks at them all.

“Southern Continent.” Aerith is trying to sound cheerful.

“Yeah, I’ll do that for 5k.” Cid says as he takes a drag.

They sit there in awkward silence for a few moments.

“SHERA?!”

Everyone jumps.

“Is the tea ready yet?!”

“Almost… just making sure we have enough for everyone.” She looks back and smiles at everyone.

“Damn, woman, you’re slow as shit.”

Tifa and Aerith are staring at him and blinking slowly, not sure how to respond to how he’s treating this poor woman.

They hear a knock on the door. Cid jumps up, “Shit! They’re here!” he claps his hands and prances over to the door.

“Oh, your fatass is here?” Cid says and laughs.

“Don’t say fat!” the man says and Cid walks outside to talk to him for a moment.

Yuffie looks at everyone, “What’s his prob!? I’m gonna clean that guy’s clock!”

“Oh… it’s fine.” Shera starts, “It’s not his fault. It’s mine.”

“Huh?” Cloud looks at her.

“I… I ruined his dream.” Shera says sadly, “He was supposed to go into space. We were ready for takeoff, but one of the oxygen tanks was really bothering me. The results weren’t great and they were very inconsistent. The Captain was getting ready for takeoff and got the alert that I was still down there inspecting them. He got really upset, because if he took off, it would have killed me. I told him to just do it… but… right at the end… he stopped it.”

“That don’t give him a free ride to treat you like that.” Barret says.

“Agreed. You were trying to save his life and he’s holding it against you like this?” Vincent looks at Shera with a bit of sympathy in his eyes.

“No, I really don’t mind. If I can help him or make him happy for all I did, then I don’t mind it if he gets a little mad at me sometimes.” Shera smiles weakly at them.

Tifa shakes her head and sighs in disbelief. Aerith seems to be feeling the same way. Red and Cait Sith just keep looking at Shera and then back to each other.

The door opens and walks in… Palmer. Cloud, Tifa, and Barret spot him and then look at each other.

“Hey-hey, is that tea?!” Palmer walks over to Shera excitedly.

“Yes, would you like some?” She asks and smiles.

“Oh yes, please! I’d love some. And don’t forget the BUTTER! Lots of butter!” Palmer dances.

“Hmm, I have lard?” Shera offers.

“That also works! It’s my second favorite!” Palmer chuckles.

Aerith leans over to Tifa and whispers, “I’ve never seen somebody so excited about tea…”

Tifa looks at her and whispers back, “I’ve never heard of anybody putting butter… or lard in their tea…”

Cloud hears them and looks at them, “Bulletproof tea… I guess… but I thought people only did that with coffee.”

“Ooo… what’s that?” Aerith asks.

“Supposed to keep you full. It’s used for people who train a lot. But you use butter, not lard.” Cloud explains.

“I’ve heard of butter in coffee… but not tea…” Tifa

Shera begins to pour tea and handing them to everyone.

Palmer takes deep sniff and sighs happily, “It smells wonderful.” He takes a taste, “And tastes much better than the boiled pond water that they sometimes have at Shinra Headquarters.”

They’re trying to avoid looking at Palmer, fearing he may recognize them.

Palmer is staring at Cloud, “Have we met?”

Cloud looks at him, “Nope.”

“Are you sure…? You look familiar…” Palmer trails off, “Have you ever… been in any productions?”

Cloud freezes. He remembers that Palmer was there on the fated night at the Honeybee Inn where he danced with Andrea and then dressed up like a woman to get Tifa out of Don Corneo’s.

“Never.” Cloud says flatly.

“Huh… I could have sworn…” Palmer takes another sip of tea, “Must be mistaken, though. Sometimes I can indulge a bit too much.” He chuckles.

Vincent looks towards the door and everyone realizes there’s shouting outside. Cloud looks around and everyone stands up and begins to exit. Cid is fighting with one of Rufus’ administrators about something.

As they’re standing there watching, Shera opens the door quietly behind them.

“Can you come here for a moment, just a few of you?” Shera asks Cloud.

Cloud pulls Tifa and Vincent in since they’re the closest to him and whispers to Barret to keep an eye on things with Cid.

Cloud closes the door and looks at Shera. She takes a breath, “Palmer is out back… where the Tiny Bronco is… It sounds like they’re only here to get that, not actually talk to him about the space program.”

“Is that what he uses to fly people around with?” Tifa asks.

“Yes, they apparently need to use it as well, for some reason…” Shera looks towards the back door, “If you could just stall him until Cid is back in here…”

“Gladly.” Cloud smirks and walks towards the back door.

When they open it, Palmer is inspecting the small aircraft. He must have started the engine because it sounded like it was running. He turns and sees the group.

“Hey-hey! What do you want?” He asks.

“Leave it.” Vincent replies.

“What are you going to do to me?” Palmer laughs at him and sticks his tongue out.

Tifa holds her fists up and Cloud draws his sword. Vincent takes out his gun and spins it a few times.

“Oh, goodie! I can test out Shinra’s newest invention!” Palmer pulls out a weird looking gun, “The Mako gun!”

Cloud looks at Vincent and then to Tifa slowly.

Palmer shoots at them. The thing casts spells.

“Ooooo boyyyyy!” Palmer yells and he continues to shoot.

The Tiny Bronco spins and just misses hitting Palmer.

“Yoo-hoo!” Palmer calls to them. He turns and slaps his ass a few times, “Kissy kissy!”

“Did he… just slap his ass at us?” Tifa asks Cloud.

“I believe he did.” Cloud says.

Palmer then dances around and sticks his tongue out at them and then holds his hands to his ears and waves them.

“…Can you shoot him or something?” Cloud asks Vincent.

“I’m trying. He has a barrier up. The Mako Gun he has must also have defensive abilities.” Vincent jumps away from another Mako Gun spell.

“Nah-nah-nah-nah-boo-boo!” Palmer yells and slaps his ass at them again.

The Tiny Bronco spins and almost hits him. He almost loses his balance trying to stay away from it.

“Well, this sure was fun, but I think my boss needs me!” Palmer sticks his tongue out at them one more time and then begins to run away…

BOOM

A Shinra truck, that must be coming to retrieve the Tiny Bronco, sends Palmer flying, and all they can hear is a dwindling scream.

Suddenly Cid comes bursting through the door, “We gotta get the fuck outta here!” He jumps in the Tiny Bronco, “Get in unless you want to play with Rufus!”

Cloud looks at Tifa and Vincent and jumps in, but is concerned, “What about everyone else?”

“Don’t worry about them. Shera’s got them in the back room in the house. They said they’ll call us when it’s clear.” Cid yelled over the roar of the engine. He slowly took off and the plane is shaky. Tifa grabs on to Cloud’s arm to steady herself.

“They’re shooting at us!” Vincent says, “Try to avoid them.”

“I’m tryin’! Sons of bitches can’t just let me be?!” Cid is trying to move without throwing everybody around, but they’re hit. The plane starts to sputter.

“SHIT!!!!!!!” Cid says, “We’re goin’ down!!!”

Cloud looks at Tifa and sees the fear on her face. He puts his hand over the one that she has on his arm, “It’ll be okay.” He says softly to her. He wasn’t sure how true that was he didn’t know what else to say. It did make her smile, at least.

“Prepare for impact, we’re hittin’ the ocean!” Cid yells.

Vincent braces himself by holding on to the wing. Cid is on the controls, so has plenty of leverage. Cloud and Tifa are also holding on to the plane, but she’s got her hand glued to his arm for extra support.

The plane slams down, and the wing goes under on the side Cloud and Tifa are on, sending them off of it.

Tifa screams, alerting Vincent to their plight.

Cloud grabs Tifa and holds her tight as they plunge into the cold ocean water. He immediately begins to try and avoid getting pulled or hit by the back of the plane. Once they’re clear, he starts kicking to get them back above water.

They break the surface and take a deep breath.

Cloud looks at Tifa, “Are you okay?”

Tifa starts laughing.

“What?”

“Your hair – it’s almost flat!”

Cloud moves his eyes up as if he could see his hair but shakes his head and his trademark spikes pop back up a bit.

Tifa laughs more, “I’m okay, especially after seeing that!”

Cloud blushes but smiles at her.

“Cloud.” Vincent says and holds his hand out. Cloud grabs his hand and helps pull him and Tifa back up.

“Well, I guess you got to go swimming after all, today!” Tifa smiles at Cloud.

Cid is just leaning over the controls of the plane.

“Now what?” Tifa asks.

“Guess we’re floatin’ around…” Cid says somewhat quietly.

“Does it move?” Cloud asks.

“Hell if I know!” Cid says.

They drift a bit.

“So, I guess you’re coming with us, huh?” Cloud asks him finally.

“I guess. You guys are going after those Shinra assholes, right?”

“Yup.” Cloud says, “That’s part of it.”

“Yeah, yeah. I don’t feel like I’ve got much of a choice anyway.” Cid sighs heavily.

“Um, won’t your wife be worried?” Tifa asks.

“Wife?!”

“Shera?” Tifa tilts her head.

“Don’t make me laugh!! That woman, my wife? That’s hilarious! Hell no she’s not my wife!” Cid continues to laugh.

“Oh…” Tifa says and looks at Cloud, maybe relieved at this news.

“She won’t give a shit where I’m at, I’m sure. Probably glad I’m not there if I’m bein’ honest.” Cid starts to mess with the controls a bit and the plane’s engine comes back on. He tries a few things and it moves.

They all look at each other.

“Looks like we can use this as some type of transportation… Though I’m not sure how many people will fit on it at once… And you bring that big dude along, we’re gonna have a problem.” Cid says.

“Barret?” Cloud asks.

“Yeah, that guy. He’s a big dude, I wouldn’t want to piss him off!” Cid laughs.

“He’s really harmless… Like a big teddy bear.” Tifa smiles.

“I guess…” Cloud says and smirks a bit.

Tifa begins to shiver after a while and brings her legs up to her chest.

“You cold?” Cloud asks.

“Yeah, the wind is getting to me…” Tifa puts her face on her knees.

Vincent stands up and takes his cloak off and puts it over both Cloud and Tifa, knowing they’re both wet. They look at him and blink a few times.

“Thank you, Vincent.” Tifa says, “That’s very kind of you…”

“Yeah… thanks.” Cloud says.

“I don’t want you getting sick.” He says dryly.

Tifa catches Vincent’s eyes again. The color is throwing her off. The only other person she ever knew to have her red eyes was her mother… But she didn’t know much about her family. There had to be other red eyed people aside from her and her mother, right?

***

After getting back to shore, Cloud calls Aerith.

“Yeah, we’re down near the Gold Saucer area.” He says, “No, no buggy… we’ll need to walk…… Right….. If you want to….. I don’t……… Fine……… Okay, just be careful.”

He hangs up.

“What’s up?” Tifa asks.

“They’re going to pick up the buggy from Nibelheim… They’re saying they’re not worried about Mt. Nibel. I guess it’s easier to get through it in the other direction… but…” Cloud sighs.

“They’ll be okay, I’m sure.” Tifa smiles at him.

Cloud can’t help but worry, but he knows Barret and Red are at least reliable.

“Wait… didn’t the bridge give out last time?” Tifa asks.

Cloud wants to slap himself; how could he forget? He sighs and takes his PHS out.

It rings, but no answer.

***

“Do you think we’ll be okay?” Red asks, “Mt. Nibel isnt’ for the faint of heart…”

“Oh, we’ll be fine. Just gotta keep moving.” Aerith says as they begin their journey back to Nibelheim.

“I hope that creepy lady isn’t there…” Yuffie shivers.

“There may be a way to walk around the town instead of through it. Might be safer since Cloud pissed off every shop owner in the town before we left.” Cait Sith says.

Barret laughed, “Yeah he did. Serves ‘em right. Acting like nothing ever happened there.”

“Oh, are you agreeing with Cloud?” Aerith asks.

“Maybe I am.” Barret says, “But don’t tell him to get used to it.”

“Wait, didn’t the bridge break on the way here?” Yuffie says.

They all stop. Barret scratches the back of his head, “What the hell are we supposed to do?”

“We’ve got those grappling guns. We could create some zip-lines!” Yuffie said excitedly.

“Not a bad idea…” Red says.

“How safe is that?” Barret asks.

“About as safe as you using a grappling gun normally.” Yuffie shrugs, “Unless you think you’re gonna break it.” She cackles.

“Man, can’t you be nice for once?” Barret says.

“No.” She says and walks off.

Cait Sith sighs, “So are we doing this or should we call Cloud back and try to figure out another plan?”

Aerith’s PHS starts to ring, “….Hey, Cloud?..... Yeah, we just realized it too…… We forgot……. We were gonna grapple ov-… Okay, okay! Geez!...... Okay, yeah……. See you then…..”

“What are we doing?” Yuffie asks.

“He said no to the grappling, something about the clumsy people in the party.” Aerith shrugged, “He said Cid thinks there’s a shoreline on the other side of Rocket Town. They want us to head there. They’re going to head and get the buggy since they’re on the other side anyway, and Cid will pick us up in groups… I’m hoping we can all just go at once, though.”

“I like that plan better…” Red says and they turn away from the Mt. Nibel trail.

***

“There.” Cloud points. They’re approaching the Nibel area shoreline, “We’ll get out, grab the buggy, and then meet back over near the Gold Saucer area…. It’ll probably take a few hours, unfortunately.”

“Yeah, I figured. This thing actually goes pretty quick around, doesn’t it?” Cid pats the plane a few times.

“Yeah, I’m surprised.” Cloud says, “Makes it easier to get around, I suppose.”

Cloud’s PHS rings, he doesn’t recognize the number, “Hello?”

He gets an odd look on his face, “Andrea?”

Tifa perks up a bit.

“Yeah…. Okay….. how….. right…… okay.” Cloud hangs up.

“Andrea?” Tifa asks and her eyes widen, “What does he want?”

“He somehow heard about our plight and wants to help… So, he’s sending a private mini-airship to grab those guys and us. It should save us a lot of time.” Cloud looks at his phone for a few moments, surprised that they had such good luck at this moment.

“That’s great! I don’t even know how to thank him!” Tifa says, relieved.

“I’m sure he’ll find a way to have us repay him…” Cloud trails off.

***

Everyone was on the private mini-airship that Andrea ordered for them. This felt weird. First, how does Andrea know what’s going on anyway? Second, how did he even know that they were split up? Cloud shook his head and figures he’ll ask him when he sees him.

“Wow, never thought I’d see one of these babies!” Cid exclaims, “These are definitely unique things – a hybrid of a plane and an airship.”

“This is soooo cooool!” Aerith said as she took another sip of wine.

“Yeah, I feel like I’m living the life of luxury!” Tifa looks around in awe.

Cloud thinks for a moment, “You know those rich executives have these things.” He looks at her with a straight face and blinks.

Aerith and Yuffie start to laugh, impressed at Cloud’s perfectly placed joke. Actually, they were more shocked.

Tifa smiles and leans towards him, “Is that so? Maybe we can go to the Chocobo Races and you can help me pick one up, huh?”

Cloud stares at her and his eyes narrow slightly, “Before or after I beat you in a race?”

Tifa leans back and puts her tongue in her cheek, “If I recall… I won.”

“You did.”

Tifa blushes, “So…?”

Cid and Barret are looking at each other, confused, at whatever is going on here.

Cid finally says, “You know they got a private room back here.”

Yuffie falls over from laughing. Cloud and Tifa clear their throats and look away from each other. Barret chuckles.

Cloud’s PHS rings again, “Hello? ……. Okay……. Yeah, we can do that……. Uhhh…… yeah……. Okay…… Thanks……. I’ll see you then.”

“Andrea?” Aerith asks.

“Yeah, he needs us to meet him at the Gold Saucer. He needs help with something…” Cloud says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help myself - I had to do the Zack meddling with Cloud and Tifa joke, that generally involves a closet. I hope you enjoyed your partial sexual tension break, even if it wasn't the main storyline... 
> 
> Next up: Gold Saucer!!!


	9. Someone to Watch Over Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gold Saucer is here.
> 
> Wutai and Midgar,  
> Are Waging War!  
> The West – Embracing the ways of the old and honors tradition!  
> The East – Which Shinra holds and embraces the ways of the future!  
> ***  
> “Geez, whatever… You don’t need to cleanse my soul or whatever the heck you’re doing.” Yuffie puts her hands up in front of her.  
> “I think he’s tryin’ to tell you to shut the hell up in a nice way.” Cid finally says.  
> ***  
> Barret leans over to Aerith, “Uh, can I change my bet?”  
> Aerith slowly looks at him, ‘Chairith’ eyes active, “Absolutely not.” She says flatly. Barret swallows nervously and sits back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Try to find all the FF series references in this one!

Coming into the Gold Saucer on Andrea’s personal mini-airship was an entirely different experience. Yuffie’s bliss didn’t last long. Within ten minutes of taking off, her motion sickness kicked in. She was relieved when the thing finally landed again.

“Okay, we should come here like this all the time! I think they landed us right into the Event Square!” Tifa felt giddy and blushed a bit over her excitement.

Cloud couldn’t help but smile at this. It was nice to see her have joy on her face instead of sorrow – something that sometimes felt like it would never leave them. Barret was grunting as he got up from his seat along side Cid, who was still rambling about the different specifications of these types of machines.

Red and Cait Sith made their way to the exit. Yuffie was first in line, though. Aerith was jumping up and down, excited on what Andrea was going to ask them to do.

Cloud was nervous about this… He really didn’t want to dance again. Maybe one of the other guys would do it. Barret liked dancing, but maybe Andrea didn’t want a guy with a massive gun on his arm doing that…

As they got off of the mini-airship, Andrea Rhodea approaches them.

“Good to see you again, Cloud.” He smiles at him and slides his glance over, “Oh, Tifa, I am so glad to see you’re here as well.”

“Glad to see you too!” Tifa says warmly.

“Yeah, good to see you again.” Cloud says, not as warmly.

“Come.” Andrea motions and turns towards The Moogie Inn. The group follows.

The atmosphere was different from The Honeybee Inn by quite a bit. Not as… adult. The women were still dressed somewhat provocatively, but as Moogles. Almost more cute than sexy, but still had a good dash of sexy. Cid was the only one that decided to start commenting on them.

“Oh, they’re cute, I think!” Aerith said, “Maybe they want Tifa to dress up as one and walk around tonight?” She smiled and blinked innocently at Cloud.

Cloud’s face dropped a bit, “Why would he make her do that?”

“Hmm… I’m sure you wouldn’t mind, would you?” Aerith is now activating the Evil smile.

Cloud sighs and walks away from her.

“I didn’t hear a no!”

Cloud allows one corner of his mouth to go up at the thought, but nobody sees it. Then his face goes into a frown thinking about all of the other patrons that would also be around. 

The main area of The Moogie Inn was massive. There was a large stage that had a sunset backdrop. The seating was similar to The Honeybee Inn, but round, not honeycomb shaped. Everything was Red, White, and Black to fit the Moogle theme. The ceiling was all glass, clearly showing the sky, fireworks and all. Andrea leads them to the stage.

“Welcome to The Moogie Inn, Tifa.” Andrea bows.

Tifa blushes and smiles at him.

“Tifa,” Andrea starts, “What experience do you have in the arts?”

Tifa’s eyes widen a bit, “Um, well, I used to play piano but it’s been… a while. I also… used to sing.”

“Perfect! I knew you were special the moment I set my eyes on you. The literal definition of perfection in every sense of the word.” Andrea looks at Cloud and then back to Tifa. He takes her hand and kisses it.

This causes Cloud to cross his arms.

“In any case, I explained to Cloud that I needed your assistance with… a personal matter. However, I think this will be fruitful for you, as well.” Andrea continues, “I need you to sing for me, Tifa. In a play that is tonight. Our leading lady suddenly stopped showing up a few days ago, and I am desperate for a replacement. This is not like The Honeybee Inn. It is more family friendly, in a sense. I was informed of you being in the area, and thought, knowing how skilled you are in everything you do, that you could assist me.”

Tifa looks at him, nervous, “I… I haven’t done any singing or acting in a long time, Andrea… I don’t know if I’ll be up to—”

“Nonsense!” Andrea grabs her hand, “Just listen to what is in your heart and you will be amazing. I can tell, just like I could tell that day at the gym and you bested me, did you not?”

Tifa looks at Aerith and then Cloud and doesn’t feel that there are any objections, “I’ll… do it.”

Cloud does look a bit concerned, mainly because he could tell Tifa was extremely nervous.

“Excellent! We must get you to costume and makeup!” Andrea raises a hand and looks behind everyone, “Please, come help Tifa get ready for tonight!”

A few Moogle dressed women come over, giggling, and take Tifa’s hand. She gives one last glance to Cloud and then looks at Andrea quickly, “Um, can one of them stay with me?”

Andrea looks at her and smiles, “Of course – Whatever you think will make you shine even brighter tonight!”

Tifa looks at Aerith, “Do you think you could… um…?”

“Um…! YES!” Aerith says and jumps up and down.

“See ya guys!” Aerith says and skips away with Tifa and the Moogle ladies.

Cloud sighs as he watches Tifa and Aerith walk away.

“Hmm? Is something bothering you?” Andrea looks at him.

“Huh? No, just wondering what you want us to do.” Cloud looks at him.

“Yes, I have another task for the rest of you…” Andrea sighed heavily, “You see, my _other_ brother is also here… And him and I are in somewhat of a feud currently.”

“A feud?” Barret asks.

“Yes, he’s angry because The Moogie Inn pulls in quite a bit of business on the nights that we do shows. He owns the Battle Arena venue and loses business.” Andrea says.

“Wait, Dio?” Cloud looks at Andrea with a scowl.

“Oh, so you’ve had the unpleasant experience of meeting him?”

“Yeah, for about five minutes before he threw us down a hole and into a prison.” Cloud crosses arms.

“Hmph, sounds like him. Reacting to petty things before knowing what the actual story is.” Andrea shakes his head, “He’s nothing like Jules, who is intelligent, calm, and kind. Dio is loud, rude, and ignorant to many things.”

“Kind of funny that both of your brothers own gyms of some type or another.” Barret says.

“Yes, well, I need to stay in the best shape, so it was an easy decision to help them start up their businesses.” Andrea looks back to Cloud, “I need you to help him, though.”

Cloud cocks an eyebrow, “Why?”

“I told him I would have a few very skilled fighters coming here tonight and that he could utilize them.” Andrea explains.

“Well, that doesn’t sound so bad.” Barret says.

“Is there a reward?” Vincent asks.

“Yes, something called a Keystone… I was informed that it may be of interest to you…” Andrea looks at the group.

“So, we win some fights and get the prize, come back here and watch the show, and that’s it?” Yuffie asks.

“That’s correct.” Andrea confirms.

“Pshhh piece of cake!” Yuffie grins.

“Don’t underestimate Dio… I’m sure he’s going to do something unorthodox, but perhaps not as bad as what Cloud had to deal with in Wall Market.” Andrea sighs. Cloud thinks back to the Hell House and hopes that Dio doesn’t have anything even remotely close to that.

“Does this all sound reasonable to you?” Andrea looks to Cloud.

“Yeah, I’m fine with that.” Cloud says, “We’ve just gotta fight some battles, right?”

“Correct… but…. You want to make sure you’re back here for the show. I’m sure you won’t want to miss it…” Andrea slowly shows a smile to Cloud.

“Huh?”

Andrea laughs and begins to walk away, lazily waving a hand, “Don’t forget what I told you, Cloud.”

Cloud looks after him and slightly nods.

“So, we’re going to the arena to fight shit?” Cid asks.

“Yeah, let’s go see what he wants…” Cloud turns and walks towards the exit. The rest follow closely behind.

***

Tifa had been changed into a robe and currently was having her hair meticulously put up into a chignon style updo.

“You have such beautiful hair, sweetie.” The stylist says.

“Oh, thank you.” Tifa blushes.

“We’ll get your hair done, then to makeup, and then into your dress!” another Moogie girl says.

“What is the play called?” Tifa asks.

“ _Opera Rosa and Alfred: True Desire Made Clear.”_ The Moogie girl says.

“Oh, that sounds romantic!” Aerith says excitedly.

“Yes, at the end, the princess gets to kiss her love!”

“WHAT?!” Tifa turns red, “Do I have to? I really don’t…”

“Oh, you’ll be fine, it’s not like it’ll mean anything. Just acting, sweetie!” the stylist says, “And the guys that play the parts are dreamy!”

Aerith begins to pick up on Tifa’s nervousness and reaches out for her hand. Tifa gave her a weak smile and sat in silence as they finished her hair and makeup.

A short time later, the Moogie girls complete her hair and makeup and excuse themselves from the room to go get the dress, shoes, and any other accessories they’re going to throw on her.

“Tifa, are you okay?” Aerith asks calmly.

“I really… I wouldn’t have agreed to this if I knew I’d have to kiss someone. It just doesn’t feel right…” Tifa says nervously.

“Deep breath. Maybe the guy is dreamy?” Aerith offers, unsure of this.

“It doesn’t matter…” Tifa sighs, “But… I don’t really think I have a choice… right?”

“Hmm, you could try talking to Andrea…?”

“I don’t know, Aerith…” Tifa begins to pick at her fingernails, “I think I’ll just pretend it’s not happening…”

“That’s terrible, Tifa!” Aerith stands up and puts her hands on her hips, “You should only do things _you_ feel comfortable with!”

“Well… maybe it’ll be okay. Maybe I can avoid it… Improvise…” Tifa trails off a bit.

“Oooo yeah! At the very moment he’s going to take you into the romantic embrace, break off from him and say something super dramatic like, ‘Alas, this is not my true love, for he still has not arrived and my heart is weary!’ or something like that.” Aerith says and holds her hand over her heart.

Tifa can’t help but laugh, “That’s not a bad idea… I’m going to do it!”

As the girls high fived each other, the Moogie girls walked back into the room with a beautiful strapless satin dress. It was a deep navy blue with a sweetheart neckline and A-Line styling.

“Wow.” Aerith whispers.

“Come here sweetie, just need to make sure it fits okay.” The Moogie girl smiles.

Tifa gets up and nervously approaches her. She removes her robe and they fit her with the appropriate undergarments. She then slips into the dress. The girls do a few things to adjust it, and then clap excitedly.

“Andi has the best judgement! He got your size perfect!” the one squeals.

“Wow, really?” Tifa says and looks down at herself.

Aerith is holding back tears, “Oh… my… gosh… you look amazing!!! AHHHH!”

Tifa starts blushing and then laughing, “Thank you, Aerith.”

“Come here, let’s look at you!” the Moogie girl takes Tifa’s hand and brings her to a mirror.

Tifa didn’t recognize herself. An elegant dress that practically covered her feet, save the nude flats peeking out from the bottom, hair sitting low on the back of her head, hair cascading somewhat loosely to meet the flood of curls pinned to her scalp. The makeup was minimal, but noticeable. Something she wasn’t used to wearing but had recently had to when she ended up at Don Corneo’s.

“Okay, necklace and tiara, and we should be good!”

“Oooo, you get a tiara?” Aerith asks.

The Moogie girl put a necklace around Tifa’s neck that had a silver crescent moon charm hanging from it and a small silver tiara on top of her head.

“There!” She says excitedly, “Now I’ll go get Andi!”

The Moogie girls run out of the room.

“You really think I look okay? I feel very…. Ridiculous.” Tifa looks down again.

“You’re playing a fairy tale princess, of course you do!” Aerith says, “And you do look amazing. I can’t wait to see the others’ reactions!”

“Oh! They’re going to be here too!?” Tifa’s eyes widen.

“Why wouldn’t they be?” Aerith tilts her head, genuinely confused.

“I-I assumed they would…” Tifa thinks for a moment, “I guess I didn’t think it’d be something that would interest them…”

Aerith starts laughing, “Oh, Tifa! Why would you think that? That’s silly of you!”

“I guess so…”

The girls hear the door begin to hear the door open and look over to see Andrea walk in.

He suddenly stops, gasps, and puts his hands over his heart, “Tifa, honey… I’m in love!”

Tifa blushes and looks down.

“I knew I picked the perfect person for this. I just had a feeling. Now – let’s talk about your role.” Andrea takes a seat near them and crosses his legs, “You will be singing a classic song, which I’m sure you know. You’ll have minimal lines. Anything that you need to say will be told to you by another cast member subtly, but do not fear. This is a play of showing emotion without using words. Showing what is truly in a person’s heart.”

Tifa nods at him.

Andrea sighs, “This is not the type of show that I would normally do, but the fairy tale princess theme is quite popular right now. The Gold Saucer also has a tradition of having a play where true love conquers all in the face of evil. I also needed it to stay appropriate for… the younger audiences… that frequent this establishment.”

Tifa smiles at him and then looks down.

“Is something bothering you? You do seem tense…” Andrea asks.

“I… I heard I’ll need to kiss the prince?” Tifa asks and looks up at him.

Andrea laughs, “Well it is a fairy tale! But not quite the prince…” he trails off, “You’ll see. I trust you’ll make the correct decision when the time comes.”

Tifa opens her mouth to question him but decides against it.

“So, I’ll leave you to practice the song and look over the script.” He hands her the sheet music and script, “Remember, you are a star, you are the epitome of perfection to me… I _know_ you won’t disappoint me.”

With that, Andrea walks out of the room with one final glance to her and a wink.

Tifa looks at Aerith with a newfound confidence, “Let’s practice and then let’s go!”

***

Cloud and the rest of the party entered the Battle Arena, which didn’t seem like it was hurting for business. It was loud and obnoxious, and it smelled like people were drinking way too much.

“This oughta be good.” Cid says.

“Let’s just get this over with. It can’t be that bad.” Cloud says.

A large muscular man with a terrible fake tan and greasy slicked back hair comes out. He only has on a thin white wife beater on and a pair of poorly fitting jeans.

“Hey, are you Cloud?” the man asks.

“Yes, and you’re Dio.” Cloud says and crosses his arms. Dio looks at him for a moment and then notices Barret as well.

“Ah, yeah, sorry about that. How can you blame me? I walked in here and had a bunch of dead guys around you. You’re saying you wouldn’t have done the same thing?” Dio asks and flashes a smile.

“Can’t say I would, no.” Cloud stares at him.

“Well, whatever, kid.” Dio sighs, “So Andrea told you what the deal is, right?”

“He told us we’d be fighting here and then we can take the Keystone.” Barret says.

“Well, yeah, mostly. You’ll need to split into two groups, though. I can’t have all of you out there at once. I got plenty of battles to fulfill all of your desires.”

The team looks at each other. Cloud thinks for a moment, “Okay, me, Barret, and Red will make up a team… and Vincent, Yuffie, Cid, and Cait Sith will make up the other team.”

Vincent stares at Cloud but says nothing. Cloud can’t see what his mouth is doing since his cloak is covering it.

“Fair?” Cloud turns back to Dio.

“Yeah, that’ll work.” Dio scratches the back of his head, “I got a lot of folks fighting for this thing tonight, so, each team will have a chance to win it. If you’re all here for the same goal, then that’s great, but ultimately, you’ll be fighting other teams and whatever support they bring during this. Grand Prize is the Keystone.”

“Alright…” Cloud says and glances at Barret and the rest, “Let’s do it.”

***

There is a flurry of activity around the stage. Setting props, ensuring the microphones are working and concealed well, the lights are set, the sound is tested and working, and the actors are ready. Some of them are reading through the script, others are doing voice warmups, and some are simply relaxing. There’s quite a cast of characters. Young men and women around Tifa’s age dressed as princes, lords, attendants, and of course there is a King and Queen.

“I’m going to go sit. Andrea got us the best seats in the house for when everyone gets back!” Aerith says to Tifa. She takes her hands, “I know you will do amazing. I just know it. I’m so excited I get to see this!” She starts to tear up a bit.

“Aerith… are you okay?”

“Oh! Yes, I’m just… I don’t know, very excited about this!” She forces a smile, “I’ll be watching! Just look at me if you need reassurance, okay?”

Tifa smiles and nods at her, “Thank you, Aerith… for staying with me. And for just… everything.”

Aerith hugs her tight and squeezes her eyes shut to try and stop the tears from coming, “No, thank you, Tifa… I’m so glad I met you…”

Aerith pulls back and Tifa looks at her with a concerned look, “Huh?”

“Oh, geez, that came out _really_ wrong.” Aerith laughs, “What I meant to say is, I’m glad that Cloud fell in the church so that you and I could meet and become friends like this! I’m so happy I’m your friend, that’s what I mean!”

“Oh, I’m really glad that we’re friends too, Aerith.” She smiles at her.

“Okay! It looks like they’re going to start soon – the crowd is coming in. Like I said, look for me if you need reassurance, okay?” Aerith waves at her and runs off.

Tifa looks after her. She feels a tap on her shoulder and turns to see one of the guys playing the prince standing next to her, flashing a toothy smile.

“Hello, Ms…?”

Tifa gives the guy a slight smile, “I’m playing Princess Rosa.”

“Ah, yes, but I wanted to know your real name.”

She swallows, “Tifa.”

“Hello, Tifa. I am playing Prince Edward.” He flashes her another smile and gets closer to her. She backs up, “My name is Marcus. A pleasure to meet you. I do hope that I am the one who ends up with the most affection for you.”

“Isn’t the play set…?”

“Oh, no, you must not have read through yet, though I wouldn’t expect an amateur to do that.” He lets out an obnoxious laugh. Tifa rolls her eyes and sighs.

He continues, “You see, we will have a series of events from dancing to watching you sing, to the King and Queen looking at our pedigree and class and then one of us will have the most affection for you, so that’s who you will end up with and live happily ever after.”

Tifa looks at him and blinks a few times, “Your affection?”

“Yes, it’s determined based on our affections.”

“What about mine?”

Marcus lets out a hearty laugh, “Nobody cares about that.”

Tifa sighs heavily and excuses herself from this creep.

 _“I really hope that I can get out of this before…”_ She bites her bottom lip and quickly turns to head back to the dressing room.

***

Cloud, Barret, and Red were on the second round out of eight battles. Dio wasn’t playing around – he really wanted them to work for this.

“Most of these assholes are Shinra!” Barret yells as he shoots across the arena.

“All trying to get the Keystone!” Red yells as he charges one of the Guard Dogs.

Finally, they were through the second round.

“ROUND TWO GOES TO…. BARRET’S BROS!”

Cloud and Red looked at Barret, “What?”

“Did you have them change the name since the first round?” Cloud asked.

Barret scratches the back of his head, “I, uh, made a recommendation.”

“Well, whatever, it doesn’t really matter.” Red says as he walks towards the recovery room.

“Yeah, see?” Barret smirks at them.

Once in the recovery room, Cloud checked his PHS just in case Tifa or Aerith needed something. He stops and stares at it.

“What’s up?” Barret asks.

“Nothing… we should get through these quickly.”

“Did something happen with Tifa and Aerith?” Red

“No.” Cloud crosses his arms and looks down, deep in thought, “But I’d prefer with this much Shinra around, that we don’t leave Aerith there on her own, especially since Tifa is going to be under the mercy of Andrea.”

“Yeah, good call. Alright! Let’s blow through it!” Barret yells and runs back to the arena.

Cloud clenches his right fist and takes a breath before joining him.

***

Vincent, Yuffie, Cid, and Cait Sith were getting ready to complete their third round. Cait Sith was getting good at manipulating the Shinra soldiers and other monsters that came along with them, making easy work of them. They were ahead of Cloud, Barret, and Red.

In the recovery room, Yuffie was bragging about how great they were and they didn’t need them. Vincent sighs heavily, “There’s four of us and three of them.”

“Yeah, and?” Yuffie says.

“One more body to divert enemies, to cast spells, and do physical damage.” Vincent stares her right in the eye and Yuffie feels like he can see right through her soul.

“Geez, whatever… You don’t need to cleanse my soul or whatever the heck you’re doing.” Yuffie puts her hands up in front of her.

“I think he’s tryin’ to tell you to shut the hell up in a nice way.” Cid finally says.

“I’ll agree with that!” Cait Sith says.

“Whatever, you guys are jerks!” Yuffie pouts and crosses her arms.

“In any case, we should keep moving. The goal is the Keystone. It doesn’t matter if we get it first or Cloud’s team gets it first.” Vincent says.

“You mean Barret’s Bros?” Cid laughs.

Yuffie rolls her eyes, “Not much better than Cid’s Cronies.”

***

Every seat in the house is taken. Tifa was taking deep breaths as she prepared to go out on stage. She had no lines for the first part and was simply waiting to sing the song. That and, as Andrea put it, light dancing. She wonders where the rest of the team is. What if they need her? She’s in no position to pick up and fight right now. Yes, she’s kicked a few men in the face while wearing a heels, even, but not a full length ballgown with little room to move.

The King and Queen were on either side of her encouraging her to take deep breaths. Tifa would smile at them and then continue to wait for their cue.

The music began to play and echo through the entire venue. The _Theme of Opera Rosa and Alfred. The lights lowered a bit and a spotlight shone in the middle of the stage._

A man walked out onto the stage, known as Chancellor Firion, dressed in a green waistcoat and breeches. His voice is loud and deep,

“Wutai and Midgar,

Are Waging War!

The West – Embracing the ways of the old and honors tradition!

The East – Which Shinra holds and embraces the ways of the future!

Alfred, who snuck out of his hometown

Before the sun could rise,

One fateful morning,

When he knew she’d still be sleeping,

Clutching a non-stop ticket to Midgar…

Thinks of his one true love,

Who he left behind, Rosa,

Is she safe? Is she waiting?”

A man dressed as a Shinra soldier walks out onto the stage and begins his lines,

“Oh Rosa,

Oh Rosa,

Please, hear my voice!

How I long to be with you!

For I am the darkness

And you are the starts!

Our love will be brighter than the sun!”

The man exits the stage. Chancellor Firion steps forward, and begins with his booming voice,

“Their parting words had never been said,

They played it too cool,

Never making a move.

Alfred could see the stars no more.

He yearned to go back

To the night summer sky from their youth,

Watching and wishing.”

“Okay, that’s our cue.” The Queen whispers to Tifa, “You can do this, Andrea believes in you so much!” She smiles warmly at her.

Tifa nods nervously and takes a breath. She stands up tall and follows the King and Queen out on stage. She catches the large crowd out of the corner of her eye, but keeps staring straight ahead at the Queen’s back, hoping to ignore the fact that there were hundreds of people staring at her. She slowly looks up and notices a night sky above her, but no stars. 

“King Braska and Queen Brahne arrive with their daughter, Princess Rosa. Today is the day they will choose a suitor to take her hand in marriage.”

The King, Queen, and Tifa take a seat on the thrones set on the stage. Tifa tries to think of how a real princess sits and straightens her back and places her right hand over her left and sets them in her lap. She looks out and sees Aerith, who looks ecstatic right now, possibly hyperventilating. It makes her smile. Aerith gives her two thumbs up.

***

“Do you have Ice Materia equipped?!” Cloud yells over at Barret.

“No! I thought you did!” Barret jumps out of the way of a large claw swipe. They were on their final battle – a Ruby Dragon. That was really upset with them.

Red charges the Ruby Dragon and gets a good bite on its left hind leg, causing it to buck to try and get him off. This distraction gives Barret enough time to lay a Focused Shot into the thing. It finally staggers.

Cloud charges forward, Limit ready, “Let’s dance, asshole!”

Barret and Red stand back and watch him finish off the Ruby Dragon. It cries out one last time before falling limp and dissipating.

Cloud puts his sword on his back and turns to Barret and Red, “Let’s go. We’ll get the Keystone and then get back to Tifa and Aerith.”

The announcers suddenly come on, “What’s this?!”

Cloud’s heart drops, he knows exactly what this is.

“The audience is demanding an encore! But not just any encore, ladies and gentlemen. A one on one battle!!” The audience cheers loudly.

“Shit.” Cloud says. He sees Dio waiting near the recovery room and runs over to him, “What the hell?”

“Sorry, kid. Special request.” Dio waves him off.

“The deal was eight rounds!” Cloud steps closer to him.

“Look, kid. I don’t wanna have to throw ya down again. So please, just fight the damn guy and get it over with.”

“Guy?”

“Yeah, some Shinra wacko wants to fight you. But only you.”

Cloud closes his eyes and sighs, “Barret… Take the rest back to Andrea’s. Please. I’ll meet you there.”

Barret looks at him for a moment, “Alright, man… but… you sure you don’t want at least one of us to stay back here as backup? Just in case?”

Cloud thought about it for a moment, “No, I can do this…”

Barret gave him a half of a smile and patted his shoulder, “I know. Alright, you hurry up!”

“Will do.” Cloud looks at Red and Barret as they disappear to go find the others.

He turns his attention back to the Battle Arena and heads back in.

The crowd starts to cheer again. The doors shut behind him. He gets ready, sword drawn and looks towards the opponent’s entrance – the doors open revealing three Shinra soldiers walking out slowly, guns drawn on him.

The crown quiets a bit and then……

_“AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!”_

“Just my luck.” He whispers to himself, “This nutjob.”

Sure enough, Roche comes slamming down on his trademark red motorcycle, and runs a few laps around him. He then proceeds to hit each of the Shinra soldiers, knocking them out. He halts in front of Cloud.

“Oh, how my heart is raging with desire now!” His eyes look intense. He dismounts the bike and drags his sword across the arena floor, heading towards Cloud.

“What do you want?” Cloud sighs.

“To dance with you, one more time!” Roche holds his sword up towards Cloud, “I swear it! No cloud, no squall, shall hinder us!”

“I don’t have time for your shit!” Cloud says as he rushes forward, metal meeting metal as Roche blocks it and they stay, swords crossed, staring intensely at each other.

“Oh, how my heart purrs for you!”

***

“Oh, King Braska, Queen Brahne, I, Prince Seifer of the Southern Nation of Centra, wish to take your daughter’s hand in marriage. I shall be her knight and protect her until the end of time!” Prince Seifer bows to King Braska and Queen Brahne. Tifa forces a smile towards him. He wears all white.

Another contender approaches the King and Queen.

“Oh, King Braska, Queen Brahne, I, Prince Bartz of the Northern Nation of Lugor, wish to take your daughter, Princess Rosa’s hand in marriage!” Prince Bartz bows deeply. He wears a red waistcoat and white breeches. Tifa once again forces a smile for him.

Now the guy she met earlier, Marcus, approaches.

“Oh, King Braska and Queen Brahn, I, Prince Edward, of the Eastern Nation of Midgar, wish to take your daughter’s hand in marriage, and show her a life full of promise and prosperity!” He flashes her a big smile as he bows. He’s wearing a red Shinra uniform.

Tifa hears the door to the venue open, and she brightens up a bit when she sees Barret entering, followed by Red, Yuffie, Vincent, Red, Cid, and Cait Sith…

 _“Wait… where’s Cloud?”_ A slight look of panic comes over her face. She looks to Aerith who is looking to Barret and back to her. Barret must notice, because he gives a big thumbs up to Tifa, indicating that Cloud is okay. Barret and them are escorted to sit with Aerith, who excitedly greets them.

Chancellor Firion begins again, “We shall test the strength and agility of the three contenders now! Which of these men holds the most desire for the Princess? Shown through the art of swordplay!”

Tifa sighs and tries not to look bored.

***

“How’s she doin’?” Barret whispers to Aerith.

“Amazing!” Aerith whispers excitedly back, “Just a bit nervous.”

“Yeah, I imagine… a hell of a thing to ask someone to do.” Barret says back.

“She looks great! But different…” Yuffie whispers to Aerith.

“Well, I don’t think any of us have… well most of us haven’t seen her _that_ dressed up.” Aerith says.

“She does look good. Like _real_ good.” Cid chuckles and drinks some bourbon that he either snuck in or found a place in here that had some.

Barret looks at him, “You, uh, might want to watch what you say.”

“I’m not sayin’ nothin’, you can calm your fist. Just complimenting the girl.” Cid says.

“Oh, it ain’t me you’d need to worry about.” Barret laughs quietly.

“Who, blondie?”

Barret huffs at that, “Maybe, but I’d be more scared of Tifa herself.”

Vincent hums a noise in agreement.

“I think Tifa looks wonderful.” Red says as he settles in to watch the sparring going on down on the stage.

“Very beautiful.” Cait Sith smiles as he focuses on the production.

Aerith leans towards Barret and whispers, “Where’s Cloud?”

Barret sighs quietly, “Said they had one more battle for him… before they gave him the Keystone.”

Aerith snaps her eyes on him, and a bit too loudly says, “The Keystone?”

“Shhh… yeah… that’s the prize.” Barret looks around hoping that nobody could hear him.

“So that’s why we had to do all this?” Aerith goes back to a whisper.

“Well, at least Tifa will feel like she’s doing it for a good reason instead of just payback for the flight…” Barret says.

***

Cloud blocks another attack from Roche and jumps back. He casts Fira and hits him in the chest with it. Roche falls back and starts laughing, “Oh, how you warm my soul!”

Cloud rolls his eyes and runs forward again. Metal on metal clashes, back and again. Roche is laughing erratically now. This guy has to almost be spent.

Cloud rushes forward again. Roche misses the block and Cloud hits him hard. He falls to his knees.

“You done?” Cloud looks down at him.

Roche grunts a bit, “My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honor remains!”

Cloud looks at him, confused.

“Until we meet again, my darling.”

Cloud rolls his eyes and turns from him. The crowd is cheering loudly.

 _“Okay, gotta get back to them…”_ He runs quickly to the exit of the arena and see Dio and a very familiar face.

“Leslie?” Cloud slows down.

“Long time no see.” Leslie steps forward smiling. He holds a glowing green object in his hand, “As promised…”

“You two know each other?” Dio asks.

Leslie looks over at Dio, “Yup, these guys helped me out a lot back in Midgar.” He hands the object over to Cloud.

Cloud takes the object, “The Keystone?”

“Yup.” Leslie says, “I got strict orders to get you back as soon as possible.”

“From who?” Cloud asks.

“You know who…” Leslie smiles and turns. Cloud shrugs and follows.

“Hey!” Dio yells at them.

Leslie turns to him, “I’d watch it… Andrea isn’t very happy with this stunt you pulled.”

“I just wanted to give the kid his cash reward. Stop by my office.” Dio flashes a toothy smile at him.

“Don’t have time for that.” Cloud says sternly and turns to walk away. Leslie chuckles a bit and follows.

Dio looked a bit confused and says to himself quietly, “Did he just deny Gil? Who does that?”

***

Yuffie stands and stretches a bit, “So how long is this?”

“Intermission is usually fifteen minutes.” Cait Sith says but stays put in his seat.

Aerith stands, “I’m going to go check on Tifa, okay?”

“Sure.” Vincent replies and lets her through.

Aerith makes her way backstage. She spots Tifa standing to the side, seemingly deep in thought.

“Heya!” Aerith says cheerfully. Tifa pops her head up.

“Hey!” She smiles at her.

“How ya feeling?”

“Okay, I have to sing next…”

“You’ll do great, I just know it!” Aerith claps a few times, “I’m so excited!”

“You know what.” Tifa takes a deep breath, “I am too. I’m excited to do this! It’s… freeing!”

“There you go!” Aerith takes Tifa’s hands, “And remember!”

“…If I feel nervous, to look to you for reassurance!”

“Right! And you’ve got a whole section now cheering for you!”

Tifa smiles and looks down, “You’re right.”

“Cloud is okay.”

“Huh?”

“He had to do something else back with that Battle Arena man, but he’ll be back!”

Tifa smiles at her and takes another deep breath, “Thank you.”

“Alright! I’ll let you focus. Good luck!!” Aerith waves and runs off.

Tifa sighs and look at the sheet music again.

_“I’ve got this!”_

***

Cloud and Leslie were making their way over towards the Event Square from the Battle Square. They were fighting the large crowd that was also trying to get out of the Battle Square and go elsewhere.

“Hang on, I’ve got a shortcut.” Leslie says, “Follow me!”

Cloud runs towards him. They enter a small maintenance tunnel.

“This will avoid most of the problem. Once we get out at the Event Square we’ll run in to some more, but nothing like this.”

Cloud nods in agreement.

They begin walking down the maintenance tunnel and Cloud wonders, “Hey Leslie…”

“Yeah?”

“Are you here for Andrea?”

“Well, kind of… I… listened to what you guys told me and decided to start looking for her…”

“Oh. Have you… found anything?”

“Well, I have a few leads that look promising. I’ll be heading to Wutai tomorrow…”

“Oh. That’s good, right?” Cloud asks.

“Yeah, hopefully.” Leslie continues walking, “What brings you here?”

“Well… initially it was to help Andrea since he helped us out… but apparently we got lucky and also ran into the Keystone, which we needed as well.”

“Oh, glad to hear you ran in to some good luck.”

They walk on for a bit.

“How did Andrea know where we were?” Cloud finally asks.

“Andrea has a lot of connections. Your group is pretty unique… so as soon as they said there was a spiky blond-haired guy, a martial artist, and a guy with a gun for an arm, he knew who you were. Heard that there was a bit of a shakeup in Rocket Town, so figured he’d help you out. He needed help too, and knew you were good for it.”

They could see a door ahead.

“That is the exit to the Event Square.” Leslie says.

***

The audience is sitting back down. Aerith is back in her seat, anxiously awaiting Tifa’s reveal. The lights dim a bit. The actors come back on stage, Tifa sits down with the King and Queen. Price Bartz, Prince Seifer, and Prince Edward come out with three Shinra soldiers.

Prince Edward steps forward, “We have a traitor amongst us!”

Everyone on stage gasps.

“I, Prince Edward, have discovered, through excellent investigatory skills, that the one amongst us is… PRINCE BARTZ!” More gasps.

“Ah! How dare you accuse me of such things!” Prince Bartz pulls out his sword.

“Are you not part of the Pirate group Tantalus?” Prince Edward steps towards him.

Prince Bartz stares at him for a moment and then a smirk comes across his face. He spins and his waistcoat comes off, revealing a pirate’s shirt.

“I knew it!” Prince Edward exclaims and shoots a victorious glare at Prince Bartz, “You! Soldier ID 41269; arrest this man!”

The one Shinra soldier moves forward and detains Prince Bartz, “I only did it to protect the planet from you and your evil nation!”

Prince Edward looks back towards Prince Seifer once the three soldiers and Prince Bartz have exited the stage.

“The last man in my way!” Prince Edward says aggressively towards him.

“Hmph.” Prince Seifer says, “And? Do you really think they’ll select you over me? My Nation has boundless resources that don’t require Mako!”

Prince Edward chuckles, “Consider this, Prince Seifer! If Princess Rosa were to marry me, peace would reign over both nations, and in turn, would prevent the war from spreading to your nation!”

Prince Seifer looks at Prince Edward, “Perhaps we should let the King and Queen decide who is more worthy!”

King Braska and Queen Brahne stand up and walk towards the two Princes.

“Prince Seifer, thought we feel you may be a good fit for our daughter, we do have our concerns about the peace agreement with the Eastern Nation of Midgar. In addition, your skills with the sword are not up to par with what Prince Edward has shown.”

Prince Seifer stands up straight, “But, Your Majesty!”

“In this case, we choose Prince Edward to be the one to take our daughter’s hand in marriage!” Queen Brahne declares. Prince Seifer bows to them and exits off of the stage. Behind the King and Queen, Tifa looks confused and disgusted.

Chancellor Firion comes out as Prince Edward, Queen Brahne, and King Braska exit the stage.

“It has been decided that Princess Rosa will wed Prince Edward in a fortnight!” Chancellor Firion exits off of the stage.

Princess Rosa does not look thrilled by this. She stands and begins to approach the front of the stage as a melody softly begins to play.

Tifa looks over to her friends. Aerith is hyperventilating, for sure. Yuffie is bright eyed and digging her fingers into Aerith’s arm. Red is leaning over the balcony and Cait Sith is sitting on his head. Barret looks like a proud father. Vincent is staring at her, but she can’t tell if he’s smiling or not. Cid is drunk and grinning like a moron… but Cloud isn’t there. She forces a smile and looks straight ahead, ignoring everyone in front of her.

She waits for the cue and takes a deep breath.

**_There’s a saying old, says that love is blind_ **

**_Still we’re often told, “seek and ye shall find”_ **

“Oh. My Goodness. She’s so good!” Aerith exclaims quickly, but quietly. She’s still hyperventilating.

“She sure is!” Yuffie says, gripping Aerith harder.

**_So I’m going to seek a certain lad I’ve had in mind_ **

**_Looking everywhere, haven’t found him yet_ **

“This is absolutely breathtaking.” Red says. Cait Sith sighs in agreement.

“I haven’t seen a show this good in a long time!” Cid says, a little too loudly.

“Man, where the hell is Cloud at?” Barret says looking around.

**_He’s the big affair I cannot forget_ **

**_Only man I ever think of with regret_ **

“Hopefully he gets here soon.” Vincent says softly.

***

Leslie and Cloud enter the venue lobby. They can hear singing coming from the stage area.

_I’d like to add his initial to my monogram_

_Tell me, where is the shepherd for this lost lamb?_

“Just in time.” Leslie mumbles to himself and walks quickly towards the doors.

Cloud is about to bust through the main entrance to the stage area. Leslie grabs his arm.

“This way, you won’t distract her…”

Cloud’s eyes widen, “Is that… Tifa?”

Leslie chuckles, “Come on and we’ll find out.” He opens the side door to the stage area quietly and they enter.

**_There’s a somebody I’m longing’ to see_ **

**_I hope that he turns out to be_ **

Cloud freezes. Tifa is singing, wearing a long dress, hair done, and a… tiara? His jaw drops and he can’t blink. He feels his throat tighten up.

**_Someone who’ll watch over me_ **

_“Tifa…”_

**_I’m a little lamb who’s lost in the wood_ **

**_I know I could, always be good_ **

**_To one who’ll watch over me_ **

Cloud is in a daze until he feels fingers under his jaw push it shut.

“You’re late.”

Cloud turns to see Andrea.

“Huh?”

Andrea walks away and beckons him to follow. Cloud walks with Andrea, but continues to stare at Tifa on stage.

**_Although he may not be the man some_ **

**_Girls think of as handsome_ **

**_To my heart he carries the key_ **

Tifa looks up to the sky as she’s singing and happens to see a shooting star. She can’t help but smile.

**_Won’t you tell him please to put on some speed_ **

**_Follow my lead, oh, how I need_ **

**_Someone to watch over me_ **

“I can’t believe he’s gonna miss this.” Barret says and sighs.

Aerith looks down and frowns, “Yeah…”

**_Won’t you tell him please to put on some speed_ **

**_Follow my lead, oh, how I need_ **

**_Someone to watch over me_ **

**_Someone to watch over me_ **

Tifa finishes the song and the audience cheers and claps. Many of them stand. She smiles brightly, but there is a hint of sadness in her eyes. She heads back to her throne, where King Braska and Queen Brahne join her.

A woman comes out from the stage and bows to the Royal Family.

“Hello Lady Beatrix!” Queen Brahne says warmly.

“Queen Brahne, I am here to address Princess Rosa, if I may?”

“Permission granted.”

Lady Beatrix looks at Princess Rosa, “Your Husband to be, Prince Edward, is in need of a dance partner for the festivities starting soon. Shall you accept?”

Tifa looks down first and then up again, “Yes, I shall accept.” She does not say this enthusiastically at all.

Lady Beatrix bows and exits off of the stage.

Chancellor Firion comes out again, “We shall be doing… _The Waltz for the Moon_!”

 _“A waltz?!”_ Tifa’s eyes widen a bit, she’s never done a waltz that she can remember. Queen Brahne stands and motions for her to, then leans over and whispers, “Just follow your partner, this one is easy!”

Tifa nods at her slowly. Prince Edward comes out along with other men and women – three of which are Shinra soldiers. They all get in to position as Prince Edward comes over and offers his hand to Princess Rosa. She sighs and takes it. He gives her a bit of an angry look.

He leads her to the front of the stage and the music begins.

“Follow my lead.” He says as he starts to move her. She isn’t completely inept, so this isn’t that difficult, she just wishes she didn’t have to dance with _him._ She purposely steps on his feet a few times and he growls at her and tightens his grip on her hand and waist.

They continue to dance for a bit.

It seems that everyone is switching dance partners for the second part. A Shinra soldier comes over and taps on Prince Edward’s shoulder.

“Hmph, good luck with her, she’ll crush your toes!” Prince Edward says.

Tifa isn’t looking up at this point, she just wants this over with. The Shinra soldier takes her hand and puts his hand on her waist. She starts to move with him. They both seem clumsy this time, but not terrible, and she’s glad it isn’t that creepy guy, Marcus.

***

“She’s not doing too bad!” Aerith says.

“No, not at all, considering she’s probably never done a waltz in her life.” Barret chuckles, “I’m gonna laugh if Cloud walks in here and sees this.”

Yuffie cackles at that.

“So, who wants to bet she kisses or doesn’t kiss… the Prince guy?” Aerith looks around.

“I dunno, she seems pretty grossed out by him…” Yuffie says.

“He does seem a bit… off.” Vincent says.

“She ain’t gonna kiss him.” Cid takes another swig from his flask.

“If it’s not the Prince, she might.” Red says.

“Okay, we’ll change it. Who thinks Tifa will kiss _anybody_ at all?”

Barret rubs his chin, “Nah… I don’t think so.”

“I’m a no as well.” Vincent says.

“Nope.” Cid says.

Cait Sith thinks for a moment, “Yeah.”

They look at him a bit surprised.

“Well everybody else said no! I’m giving the girl a bit of credit!” He huffs.

“That’s fair…” Aerith thinks for a moment, “Okay, I’ll say yes too!”

“Is there a maybe option?” Red asks.

“Nope – yes or no!” Aerith says.

Red things, “No…”

“Yuffie?”

“Gahhh… I don’t know!” Yuffie, “Uhhh… I’m gonna say no!”

“Alright, we’re all set. Let’s see what happens!” Aerith looks at the stage and smiles.

***

The waltz was over. The Shinra soldier that Princess Rosa just finished dancing with took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on the back of it, and then walked away without looking up at her. She turned bright red. Prince Edward was kind of mad about this.

Chancellor Firion comes out again. Only Princess Rosa and Prince Edward are on the stage. Her heart starts pounding.

 _“Remember what Aerith said: Alas, this is not my true love, for he still has not arrived and my heart is weary!”_ Tifa looks over at Aerith and she has a somewhat serious look on her face but smiles with conviction on seeing Tifa’s pleading stare.

Chancellor Firion speaks, “After a long day of festivities and celebration, Prince Edward and Princess Rosa escape to the gardens for time alone to prepare for their future as husband and wife.”

Prince Edward approaches Princess Rosa from behind. She’s in the center of the stage

“Pray, my love, make me thy canary to keep forever in the cage of thy bosom!” He declares to her.

He takes her hand and coaxes her to face him. Tifa’s face is in a scowl and she refuses to look up.

“What are you doing?!” He hisses at her as quietly as he can.

She breaks away from him, “Alas, this is not my true love! For he has still not arrived and my heart is weary!”

The audience gasps. Prince Edward also was not expecting this.

He laughs nervously, “My love, I have been chosen as the one you shall truly love for the rest of your days, though.”

Princess Rosa looks up at the audience and with confidence says, “Prince Edward, _I_ have not chosen you!”

The audience is at the edge of their seats.

Aerith and Yuffie could fall off of the balcony at any moment they are leaning so far forward. Barret and Vincent are trying to watch them but are completely engrossed in the show, knowing that she might knock this guy out. Cait Sith almost does fall, but Red is able to catch him. Cid is passed out.

Princess Rosa is breathing heavy but has a look of conviction. Prince Edward approaches her again.

He reaches out aggressively to grab her wrist, but she kicks him instead. He flies across the stage.

The audience gasps and groans loudly. Then, they cheer. Princess Rosa turns fully to face Prince Edward, who’s gripping his abdomen where he was kicked. She notices a Shinra soldier walking out a bit quickly and her eyes widen.

Prince Edward stands up, “You ungrateful… _bitch_!” He sneers and begins to approach her, but the Shinra soldier reaches him first and spins him around. He grabs him by the collar and mumbles something to him that nobody can hear. He then drops him on the ground and turns towards Princess Rosa.

“Who do you think you are?!” Prince Edward yells up at him.

The Shinra solider slowly turns back to him. Prince Edward thinks its wise at this point to stand up and tries to attack the soldier but is met with a hard fist and flies about five feet back. Knocked out cold.

A loud sigh is initially heard from backstage before the audience erupts in applause.

The Shinra soldier smirks and flexes the hand used to punch the creep. He turns back to Tifa and starts walking over to her.

She blinks a few times, confused.

 _“I should have read the script… I really should have read the script fully…”_ She sighs to herself, thinking this was over, but now here comes another contender. She was too focused on the song and ignored the script.

Lady Beatrix comes out,

“The Princess did not love a Prince.

She loved only one. Her hero!

Who was not a Knight nor a Prince nor a Lord.

He was just _her_ hero.”

The Shinra soldier stands near her, looking slightly down.

Chancellor Firion comes out,

“Alas, the mysterious soldier approaches his love and reveals himself as…..!”

“Huh!?” The Shinra soldier suddenly snaps his head up. He freezes and looks over at the Chancellor, back to Tifa, and then to the audience, and then back to Tifa.

Chancellor Firion clears his throat, “Alas, the mysterious soldier approaches his love and reveals himself as--!”

Tifa slowly approaches him, leaning down a bit to try and catch a glimpse of his face. The Shinra soldier sighs and puts his hands on his helmet and slowly lifts it off of his head.

Chancellor Firion looks around and sighs, “Alfred!”

Tifa gasps loudly.

“AHHHHH!!!” Aerith screams way too loud causing everyone to look back towards their seats.

Tifa stares in shock. This was no Alfred.

Cloud Strife is standing in front of her, looking as meek and nervous as he did when he made her the promise on the water tower all those years ago.

***

Barret leans over to Aerith, “Uh, can I change my bet?”

Aerith slowly looks at him, ‘Chairith’ eyes active, “Absolutely not.” She says flatly. Barret swallows nervously and sits back.

Yuffie sits down and pouts but begins to perk up again, since something is happening.

***

Cloud and Tifa stare at each other for what feels like several minutes, but it’s only around ten seconds.

The audience is really on the edge of their seats. Aerith and Yuffie are gripping each other again. Even Vincent seems to be showing a strong curiosity towards this. Cid has been woken up and is wide eyed staring at the stage.

Chancellor Firion speaks,

“The reunion of Alfred and his one true love, Rosa, has finally come!

He takes his sweetheart in to a loving embrace!”

“Uhhh,” Cloud looks at the Chancellor and then to Tifa nervously.

She smiles shyly at him and gives a small nod, to let him know its okay.

Chancellor Firion clears his throat and repeats, “He takes his sweetheart in to a loving embrace!”

Cloud looks at her and slowly puts his arms around her, still holding his helmet in his right hand and resting it on her back. She brings her hands up and places them on his shoulders. She smiles at him.

He whispers to her, “Heard you were in a pinch… Need some help?”

She whispers back, “I don’t know about _need_ …” She closes her eyes and smiles even brighter, “Thank you…”

She opens her eyes again to look in to his. She truly feels as if she’s looking into the eyes of the boy from Nibelheim. Cloud from Nibelheim, not mako-eyed Cloud. They’re softer, bluer but there’s a glimpse of something else there. Something deep within him.

Lady Beatrix speaks,

“Their parting words had never been said,

They used to watch and wish on the stars,

Playing it too cool, never making a move,

Alas! Not this time!”

Cloud and Tifa’s eyes slowly slide over to Lady Beatrix and Chancellor Firion and then back to each other.

Chancellor Firion speaks, “Alfred is overwhelmed with emotion and cannot help but kiss his one true love!”

Cloud and Tifa turn bright red and gasp.

A yell is started from the upper balcony that is quickly snuffed out. Cloud looks towards the audience and begins to panic.

_“!!!! I AM SO SCREWED !!!! I DIDN’T KNOW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!!! I AM GOING TO KILL ANDREA!”_

Tifa slowly places her hand on the side of his face and whispers gently, “Hey… Eyes on me, okay?”

He turns back to her quickly and their eyes lock. She smiles gently at him. She’s a ball of nerves, but knows she needs to stay strong for both of them.

“Tifa…” He whispers.

She cocks an eyebrow at him and laughs a bit, “It’s Princess Rosa.”

The audience is on edge.

Cloud looks at her lips and then her eyes. Tifa gets a mischievous look on her face.

And bites her bottom lip.

_“!!! NOW !!!”_

Cloud presses his lips against hers and closes his eyes.

The audience gasps.

Aerith and Yuffie scream.

After Tifa’s initial shock, she lets her eyes slip closed.

Cloud drops the helmet as Tifa brings her arms around his neck and he presses her closer to him.

The audience begins to cheer and clap. Then they begin to stand.

***

“Well, shit… He actually did it.” Barret chuckles, “Guess he’s learnin’ a thing or two.”

Aerith is crying and laughing.

“Aerith, are you okay?’ Red asks.

“OH, I’M BETTER THAN OKAY! I AM ECSTATIC!”

Yuffie looks at her, also fired up, but for a different reason, “Is it because you just won 2,000 Gil from all of us that said they wouldn’t?!”

“TWO THOUSAND?!” Everyone else screams, except Cait Sith. Luckily, the audience drowns this conversation out.

***

He decides to test something and takes hold of her bottom lip gently and then releases it as he pulls back from the kiss.

She gasps, _“He must have had the dream!”_

They’re bright red and still breathing heavy and the audience is still cheering.

“I-I’ve never done that before…” He admits.

She looks at him, “On a stage?”

He shakes his head no, slightly, and swallows, “Anywhere…”

Tifa smiles, “Well, neither have I… not like that… anywhere.”

Cloud smirks at her, “Want to see something Andrea taught me?”

She gives him an unsure look, but he pulls away from her and takes her hand and holds it up.

They bow to the audience and see them clapping and cheering. They see Aerith still hyperventilating, and to Cloud’s relief, Barret seems happy.

He looks over at Tifa and she seems… happy?

He brings them up and then bows again.

_“Just like the dream…”_

The curtain drops in front of them.

Tifa sighs loudly in relief, “I’m so glad that’s over…”

Cloud looks at her, “I thought it was good.”

Tifa’s eyes widen and she blushes.

The adrenaline starts to wear off.

“I-I mean the singing!” He quickly says.

Tifa tilts her head and looks confused. 

“U-Uh, I mean, the other stuff was too.” He clears his throat and scratches the back of his neck.

She starts laughing, “I didn’t know you saw me sing!”

“Y-Yeah, I did… It was really good.”

The reality of what just happened sets over them and they look away from each other.

“Well I’ll be damned.”

Cloud and Tifa turn towards the voice behind them. Chocobo Sam and Madam M walk up with Andrea. Andrea walks up to Tifa, “That was magnificent!”

“Y-You really think so?” She says, still somewhat out of breath.

“Darling, the audience was absolutely over the moon with that performance! It was just as I expected. I see the thing you were conflicted on seemed to have resolved…”

Tifa looks down and blushes. Andrea looks to Cloud, “And I dare say, you were quite impressive too, though I wasn’t expecting you to actually punch my actor in the face.”

“Uhh…” Cloud swallows and looks down.

Andrea laughs, “Don’t let it bother you. He deserved it. He is very used to getting his way. This taught him a very valuable lesson that I hope he takes with him in his next performance.”

“Oh, Cloud…” Madam M walks up and puts her fan under his chin, “Such passion was shown in that kiss… It made me swoon...” She looks over at Tifa and smirks. Cloud is staring straight at Madam M, red as a beet at a loss for words, “Perhaps a… massage later? I can make it a couple’s massage.” She laughs suggestively.

“No thanks.” He says sternly.

“A massage sounds nice…” Tifa says.

“Not this kind.” Cloud narrows his eyes on Madam M.

“Oh, you. It’s just a hand massage.” She fans herself.

“Uhh… okay?” Tifa tilts her head and looks at Cloud.

Cloud sighs.

“Boy that was somethin’ else…” Chocobo Sam looks at him and smirks, “I told you, you’ve changed since the first time I met you. In a good way.”

“What are you guys doing here anyway?” Cloud asks, ignoring his comments.

“Heard ya’ll were around. Figured I’d check in on ya.” Chocobo Sam replies, “Plus… got some business in Wutai tomorrow. Figured we’d stop here on the way…”

“Wutai, huh?” Cloud asks.

“Yes… to see an old… friend.” Madam M scoffs at the word ‘friend’.

“Well, good luck with that.” Cloud says and looks up behind her to see Aerith and Barret waiting at the end of the hall. Aerith looks like she’s going to explode with joy for some reason.

“We must be going, but…” Andrea looks back to Tifa, “You made my heart do things I didn’t know it could do. I hope one day to be able to actually join you on stage…” He bows to her and the The Trio walks away, leaving the path open for Aerith to attack.

“AHHHH!” She screams as she runs at them full force. Cloud’s eyes widen and he braces himself as she appears to be coming right at the both of them but diverts at the last second and only hugs Tifa. Cloud sighs, a bit relieved, but also confused.

“You were amazing!” Aerith says excitedly to Tifa. Tifa smiles at her.

Barret starts to walk up and is looking right at Cloud, with a devious smirk on his face and starts to chuckle, “Well, you are just full of surprises.”

“I suppose.” Cloud says and can’t help but give a smirk of his own.

“Never thought there’d be that twist at the end!” Aerith says, “We were worried you weren’t back to see Tifa sing!”

“I apparently was late to Andrea… but was here to see her sing.” He looks over to her slightly and she blushes.

“Late?” Tifa asks.

“I didn’t know I was supposed to be here at a certain time, either…” Cloud shrugs.

“And that _kiss_!” Aerith looks right at Cloud for this, “That was so dreamy!”

Cloud looks away and clears his throat.

Tifa lets out a nervous laugh, “Well, it was part of the show… Just acting… Right?” She looks shyly over at Cloud.

He slowly looks back, “Y-Yeah, just acting.”

“That was some acting!” Aerith says shaking her head.

“Well, we should be going…” Cloud starts to walk away.

“Wait!” Aerith says.

Cloud turns to her.

“You guys match, you should go out on the town to celebrate!” Aerith says cheerfully.

Tifa turns bright red and looks at Aerith wide-eyed. Cloud is looking at Tifa and then back to Aerith, “Uh… in this?” Cloud looks down at the Shinra uniform.

“Sure, why not? Nobody will bother you!” Aerith says, “And Tifa can wear this!”

“I… guess?” Tifa looks at Cloud briefly before looking at Aerith, “But… what about our stuff? And I’m sure Andrea wants this back?”

“We’ve got your stuff and we’ll bring the dress back later. Can’t leave tonight, so we got a room at the Ghost Hotel!” Aerith says and gets behind Cloud and Tifa.

“Wait, why can’t we leave?” Cloud asks.

“Cable car is down and Andrea’s stuff is under maintenance… He paid for it, so…” Barret scratches the back of his head, “Guess it doesn’t hurt to stay a night, huh?”

“Guess not…” Cloud says and sighs.

“Enough talking!” She begins to push them forward, “Come on!”

Nah, and even if he does, we can bring it to him later!

They give up resisting.

***

The rest of the party was waiting out in the lobby amongst the excited crowd. Vincent was leaning against a wall, being cool. Cid was stumbling around slurring about how much of a dick Prince Edward was and drawing dirty looks from other patrons. Cait Sith and Red were sitting and waiting patiently near Vincent.

Yuffie was interested in a fight between a woman and a security guard near the doors.

The woman was red in the face and huffing, “I can’t believe you put that poster up! When are you going to put up a Clad and Ashley poster? All you’ve been doing is putting up Clad and Tiffany posters!”

“Ma’am, please, I’m not in control of the posters or who puts them up. It’s up to the venue on what posters they put up, and ultimately up to the producer on what they send to us.” The security guard has his arms crossed and looks really annoyed.

The woman gasps, “How dare you! There are _millions_ of fans of Clashley that want to see them fairly represented!”

“Ma’am, I don’t even know what a Clashley is… Please move along.”

“No! You’re going to fix this!”

“Ma’am, I’ll give you one more warning.”

“This is so unfair! Clad is only being controlled by the nanomachines and that’s why he’s even being nice to Tiffany! Everybody only likes Tiffany because she has bigger paws!”

“Okay, I’m done. You’re banned from the property for at least three days.” He puts his hand out and begins to gently push her out.

“ABUSE! I AM BEING ABUSED!”

“Yeah, yeah, move along, let’s go. I don’t want to see your face here for a while. You need to calm down and get over whatever the hell this is.”

The woman was pushed out of the door, screaming about Clati fans complaining too much and that’s the only reason they put up a Clati poster.

“What the hellsh going on?” Cid stumbles up next to Yuffie.

“Oh, just one of the crazier Clashley fans.” Yuffie laughs, “Good ol’ Rali.”

“…The hell is a Clafhlight?”

“Maybe you should stop drinking, pops!” Yuffie pinches her nose, “You stink anyway!”

Vincent walks up and places a hand on Cid’s shoulder, “I think we should head back. You do seem to be a bit inebriated.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Cid hiccups, “I could go for a quick snooze.”

“And maybe a gallon of water and a shower.” Red adds.

***

Aerith pushed Cloud and Tifa out of the Event Square and to the Round Square.

“Okay, have fun!” She yells and runs off with Barret.

Cloud and Tifa look at each other.

“So… what do you want to do?” Tifa asks, her hands are clasped in front of her.

“Um… I don’t… whatever you want to do?” Cloud asks.

“Well… I guess we can ride the Gondola?” She looks at him for confirmation.

He nods. They walk up and buy tickets to the Gondola ride and get on. The Gondola begins to move and Tifa is looking down at her hands and fiddling her thumbs.

“Tifa?” Cloud asks.

“Huh?”

“You okay?”

“Y-Yeah!”

Cloud raises an eyebrow at her. She looks out at the roller coasters zooming by and takes in the sights. Laughter and screams can be heard along with festive music. Cloud couldn’t help but look at her. Did he really kiss her? _Her_? In front of people? All those people?

 _“How the hell did I do that…?”_ Cloud frowns a bit. Now he’s sitting in front of her and has no idea what to say or what to do.

“Sometimes… it’s hard.” Tifa says softly.

“Huh?” Cloud breaks out of his trance of staring at her. She’s still staring out of the window.

She takes a deep breath, “It’s hard being childhood friends sometimes…”

Cloud tilts his head a bit, “Why?”

“I…”

Fireworks start to light up the sky, interrupting her from whatever she wanted to tell him. Cloud looks out at them and then back to her. Her eyes are reflecting the bright lights and colors, and he’s entranced by it.

Tifa slowly turns to him and they lock eyes.

“Tifa…” He says softly.

“I know we were acting earlier… but…” Tifa says softly. They both begin to lean forward…

His PHS rings. They both jump back from each other. Cloud pulls it out and answers it, heavy annoyance in his voice, “What?”

Tifa is blushing furiously and trying to avoid eye contact, but notices Cloud stiffen up. “We’ll be there as soon as we can.” He hangs up.

“What’s wrong?” Tifa asks.

“The Keystone is missing and so is Cait Sith.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! I had a blast writing that and going down memory lane to watch the FF6 Opera. 
> 
> And FINALLY!!! Right?


	10. You Don't Own Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuffie snickers and then her face drops, “I don’t have any money left. You took it all!”  
> “I do payment plans, you know.”  
> ***  
> “Sometimes guys need to chill for a few minutes in the morning…” Aerith laughs nervously, again.  
> Yuffie looks at her, confused.  
> Tifa thinks for a moment, “OH!” She starts to blush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all... you guys are amazing. I never expected to get this much feedback on something like this. 
> 
> Second, I am SO SORRY it took me so long to get this update out. I struggled with this chapter and how to handle it. I think a bit is me delaying the inevitable... that may be coming soon. 
> 
> Third... This is a LONG chapter. I hope that makes up for how long it took to get out. Enjoy!

Tifa sighs nervously across from Cloud as he places his PHS back in his pocket. The Gondola felt like it was going incredibly slow at this point. Cloud looks over at her, but his nerves start to get the best of him, and he looks down. Before his PHS rang, there was another moment between them, creating an atmosphere of tension which was still lingering and now had the extra anxiety of what happened to Cait Sith and the Keystone.

Tifa finally breaks the tension, “Why would he take it?”

Cloud looks up at her and notices she’s still looking at her hands in her lap and picking at her fingers, “We don’t know if he took it… but it is weird that both he and the Keystone are gone.”

“I guess… if we don’t have the Keystone we can’t get into the Temple of the Ancients?” Tifa says sheepishly.

“I guess we would still find a way.” Cloud thinks for a moment, “Are you still worried?”

Tifa laughs quietly, “Something like that.”

“Tifa?” Cloud says this somewhat sternly. He’s getting pretty good at knowing when she’s hiding things from him.

“I just…” Tifa takes a deep breath, “I just don’t like the sound of it… What if something happens to one of us? What if something happens to Aerith there? Like she can’t leave?”

Cloud thinks for a moment, “We won’t let that happen.”

Tifa forces a smile. The gnawing feeling in her gut wouldn’t go away and became much worse after they obtained the Keystone, like they were carrying around something that would put them on a path they wouldn’t be able to turn back from. What if one of them didn’t come back? Then again, this was always a risk up to this point. Anything can happen on the battlefield, and she knows from experience that it can happen quickly and without warning.

The Gondola began to slow to a stop. Cloud and Tifa both stood quickly and exited, running towards the main station.

***

“That son of a bitch!” Barret yells and snaps his head from one side of the theme part to the other, trying to get a glimpse of a black cat on top of a very large Mog, “Where the hell did he go?!”

“Barret calm down! He may not have—” Aerith started.

“Bullshit! He was acting weird the entire night!” Barret was huffing at this point, “What the hell is gonna do with it? Sell it?”

“If Shinra wants it, they may have made him a lucrative offer. The only way to find out is to split up and look for him.” Vincent states dryly.

“Alright, fine. Red, you’re coming with me!” Barret looks over to the rest, “Vincent and Aerith, you guys go to the Wonder Square. Cid and Yuffie, you go to the Event Square. We’ll head to the Chocobo Square.”

“Aww man! I don’t wanna be with old drunkard!” Yuffie pouts.

“Hey, shut up brat! I ain’t drunk no more!” Cid slightly stumbles.

“I don’t give a shit who you go with – switch it up. Hell if I care!” Barret throws his hand up.

Yuffie looks at Aerith and they pair up, leaving Vincent and Cid.

“Alright, let’s go!” Barret barks and runs towards the Chocobo Square.

***

Cloud and Tifa make their way to the main station and spot an anxious looking Cait Sith.

“Hey!” Cloud yells and begins running at him. This makes Cait Sith’s Mog jump and him yelp. He takes off towards the Event Square. Cloud and Tifa are on his tail. Tifa is holding up the gown, cursing herself for not changing into something more appropriate for this activity.

In the Event Square, Cait Sith runs around and jumps again. Cid and Vincent are coming from the opposite side. They spot him and start running. Cait Sith has his Mog jump over them and off again.

“Hey!” Cid yells.

“Cid!” Tifa calls to them.

“You two heard?” Cid asks.

“Yeah, Barret called me.” Cloud says, “You go out that exit, we’ll go back this way.”

Cid and Vincent nod. Once they’re back in the Main Square, they just see him go to the Wonder Square transport and, of course, miss the transport.

“Okay, you two stay here and stand watch at the exits. We’ll follow him and maybe chase him back out here and try and restrain him.” Cloud begins to turn as Cid and Vincent nod their acknowledgement of the plan. Another transport comes for the Wonder Square and they hop on.

“What do you think he intends to do with it?” Tifa asks Cloud.

“Don’t know. Hopefully, we can get him and find out before he does whatever he’s going to do.”

The transport stops and the two of them jump off. They slow down and look around. Yuffie and Aerith are nearby and Tifa motions towards them.

“Oh! You two came?!” Yuffie asked, “I thought by now you’d be—”

“YUFFIE!” Aerith yells and slaps the back of her head.

“HEY! THAT HURTS!”

“Well, don’t be a Snooty Sue!”

Yuffie looks to Aerith with a baffled look on her face.

“Have you seen Cait Sith?” Cloud asks.

“No, not yet. That’s why we’re here. Barret had us split up… We did see him acting oddly at the Hotel. He was keeping count of how many drinks Cid and Barret had… I guess to see if they’d be functional or not to stop him…”

“So, he did take it…” Tifa’s face tenses up and she looks down.

“That punkass cat was sneaky about it too.” Yuffie says as she finishes rubbing the back of her head, “He waited until Cid and Barret started arguing about some stupid music boxes and whether or not they symbolized… I don’t even know. It was probably some stupid old man thing.”

Tifa, Cloud, and Aerith look at each other.

“But anyway, he waited until we were engrossed in watching them argue and that was that. We did see him go upstairs and then he suddenly left.” Yuffie states.

“I went upstairs because I thought it was odd that he didn’t say anything to us.” Aerith starts, “And he didn’t want to hang out with us. He said he was tired…”

Cloud notices something odd out of the corner of his eye. A Mog arm? Peeking out from behind a large directory? He looks over at the three women and tilts his head towards that direction. They all look and spot the same thing, “We’ll try and surround him.” Cloud whispers.

The four slowly sneak over towards the Mog arm and are about to pounce. Suddenly, Cait Sith flies past them from a totally different direction. They all gasp and Cloud and Tifa bolt towards the transport, missing it once again.

Aerith walks behind the directory and notices that it’s just a cardboard cutout of a Mog arm taped to the back of it. She looks at it and decides she’s going to take it.

***

Cloud and Tifa get on the next transport.

“Shit.” Cloud whispers to himself, “I forgot to tell them to watch the exits.”

“Cid and Vincent should see him… Maybe they’ll have him restrained when we get back?”

“Hopefully.”

The transport stops and they get off quickly. At the main station, they notice Cid and Vincent standing there and looking board.

“He didn’t come through here?” Cloud asks.

“Uh, no, didn’t see anything.” Cid says. Vincent simply shook his head no.

“Now what?” Tifa asks.

“Well we’ve covered the Event and Wonder Squares… We still have the Ghost Square, but I doubt he’d go back to the hotel… so that leaves Chocobo and Battle—”

“GET BACK HERE YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

Cloud and Tifa look at each other and say, “Barret!”

Sure enough, Cait Sith comes bolting from the direction of the Chocobo Square with a very loud and very angry sounding Barret coming behind him, who was then followed by Red.

Cait Sith ignores all of them and goes right towards the Battle Square. He slams a button before jumping on the transport and an alarm starts going off. The other patrons look around confused. An announcement begins to play over the loudspeakers, “Attention. Please vacate the transport areas. Attention. Please vacate the transport areas.”

Barret throws his arm and turns towards Cloud and Tifa, “What the hell?”

Cloud thinks for a moment, “Leslie showed me something…”

“Leslie’s here?” Tifa asks, a bit surprised.

“Yeah, we can talk about it later.” Cloud gives her a reassuring look, “There should be a maintenance tunnel to get past this and get over to the Event Square.”

Red nods, “Then let’s get to it.”

Cloud spots the door to the side and they run towards it. Once inside, they look and see a sign directing them towards the Battle Square or the Chocobo Square. Luckily, the Battle Square is closer since they were already near the transport for it anyway.

They open the door to enter the battle square and immediately hear a helicopter. Cloud and Barret look at each other, somewhat confused. They look towards the direction of the sound and it’s a Shinra helicopter. Cloud bolts towards it, followed closely by the other three.

“Hey! Cait Sith!” Cloud yells. Cait Sith turns to them and looks almost solemn. He throws the Keystone up towards the helicopter. Cloud follows it and the glowing object is caught by Tseng.

Cloud grits his teeth and glares at Tseng.

“Good work.” Tseng states and looks at Cait Sith, “I suppose this was a useful investment to have you do this.”

Cait Sith says nothing. Barret walks up and grabs the cat by the scruff and holds him up to his face.

“I wouldn’t if I were you.” Tseng states dryly.

Barret looks up at Tseng who is holding a PHS and shows a video of… Marlene.

“MARLENE?!” Barret drops Cait Sith.

“Papa!” Marlene cries.

“What are you going to do to Marlene?!” Tifa yells, her voice shaking with anger.

“That depends on how you respond to this.” Cait Sith says with a groan, “We’re going to go on as if nothing happened.”

“What?!” Cloud asks, eyes narrowing.

“Your other option is—”

“No! We’ll do it!” Tifa says quickly, “Just… please don’t hurt Marlene.”

“If a finger is laid on my baby girl!”

“I’m not in the business of hurting children.” Tseng smiles, “As long as their… ‘parents’… cooperate.”

“You son of a bitch…” Barret begins to choke on his words.

“Fine. Cait Sith will continue on with us.” Cloud notices Rude sitting in the passenger seat of the helicopter, staring over at Tifa with his jaw slightly slack. This sends some type of intense jealous rage through him.

Tseng looks at Cloud and a wry smile forms on his face, “That uniform looks like it was made for you… Fits you much better than your other one.” He thinks for a moment and shakes his head, “Must be my imagination.”

Cloud clenches his left fist and grits his teeth. Why did this infuriate him so much?

“We will be off, then.” Tseng smirks at them again, “Don’t interfere… Remember…” He shakes his PHS at them before disappearing inside of the helicopter.

Cloud looks at him and feels useless. Why couldn’t they have realized that the Keystone shouldn’t have just been left in the hotel? Then again… he never wanted to think any of the people in their group would be a spy or a double agent. This hurt for various reasons. He then notices Rude again, still staring.

Cloud looks at Tifa, “You okay?”

“Um—” before she can finish, he puts his arm around her shoulders and stares back and Rude. Tifa slowly looks over at him but doesn’t resist. Rude’s mouth opens a bit further before he snaps it shut and turns his head away. Cloud lets out a small victorious chuckle.

“Cloud?”

“Huh?”

“…Thanks.”

He looks at her, a bit surprised.

The helicopter rises and flies off. All of them look at each other and then to Cait Sith, who has his head down.

“Come on…” Cloud says coldly. They surround him and lead him through the maintenance tunnel. No one speaks during the journey back to the main station.

They emerge and make their way to the main station to head back to the Ghost Hotel.

Suddenly, a large cardboard Mog arm flashes by Cloud’s peripheral vision and slams into Cait Sith, knocking him off of his Mog.

“HAH!” Aerith and Yuffie yell.

“Um… guys?” Tifa looks at them, amused. The rest of the party is staring, confused, at what just happened.

“What the hell was that for?!” Cait Sith jumps up and starts pointing a finger at them.

“Oh… guess you got him, huh?” Aerith says sheepishly.

***

Back at the Hotel, the group had Cait Sith sitting in a chair as they all glared at him. Mostly with their arms crossed.

“…So, tell us why you took it.” Cloud’s glare was not breaking.

“I was asked to follow you because of the Ancient.”

“By who?” Tifa asks.

“Well, who’d I throw the Keystone to?” Cait Sith asks, somewhat humorously.

“You work for Shinra?!” Barret lurches forward.

“How is a cat riding a marshmallow working for Shinra?” Cid asks, half asleep in a chair by the fireplace. Everyone’s eyes slide over to Cid, who is clearly still trying to get the last of the alcohol out of his system.

“I’m not a real cat.”

“Duh… I mean…” Barret looks around, “DUH.”

“I control this from Shinra HQ.”

“Who are you?” Cloud asks.

“That, I can’t tell you. Not yet anyway. However, don’t you think we should get some sleep? I think we’re going to have a busy few days ahead of us.” Cait Sith stares over towards Cloud.

Cloud sighs and nods his head.

Vincent and Red step forward.

“You’ll be staying with those two.” Cloud states and smirks.

“Fine with me. What else do you think I’m going to do? My mission was completed.” Cait Sith replies.

“Doesn’t matter.” Cloud sighs.

Cait Sith and Vincent go upstairs towards the rooms. Barret heads over to Cid’s chair and shakes him so he gets up and heads upstairs. Cid mumbled some complaints towards Barret and then quickly backpaddled them when Barret shot him a warning glance.

Aerith looks around, “I… I think I’m going to go upstairs. I’m really tired.”

“Aerith?” Tifa asks, somewhat concerned over how she said that.

“I’m fine, really. Just tired.” She offers a forced smile and heads upstairs. Yuffie follows her without saying anything.

Cloud looks over at Tifa, who still seems worried about Aerith. He’s stewing on what he should say next, maybe just ask her to talk?

Red approaches Cloud and Tifa and looks somewhat nervous.

“Hey, Red… Are you okay?” Tifa asks and looks down at him.

“I wanted to ask you…” Red begins, “When we were in Nibelheim… You said there were… people with numbers, right?”

“Yeah.” Cloud says softly. He’s a bit surprised that this is coming up now, since it’s been a few days since they were in Nibelheim.

“Well… I think we all know those are… Hojo’s doing.”

Tifa and Cloud slowly nod.

“I have a number too… Do you think I’m going to become one of them? I don’t want to become one of them…” Red says, somewhat panicked.

“Of course not!” Tifa blurts out, “Never, don’t think like that! You have to stay strong!”

“But Tifa…”

“No buts! You _won’t_ become one of them! I know it.” Tifa smiles warmly at him, trying to hide the sadness in her eyes.

Cloud is shocked. Red is generally a very levelheaded member of the party, but he had quite a bit of anxiety in his questions. This gave Cloud a gnawing feeling in his gut. Red didn’t show any signs of turning into one of the cloaked figures… but could he eventually?

“Thank you, Tifa.” Red sighs, sounding slightly relieved, but still not rid of all of the anxiety, “I will stay strong and believe that I am not just another experiment of Hojo’s…”

“That’s right… We won’t let anything happen to you! Right, Cloud?” She looks over at Cloud. This seems to be more for reassuring herself than for Red.

“Right.” Cloud says, finding it hard to keep his eye contact with her, because he really wasn’t sure.

“Let’s get some sleep, yeah?” Tifa looks to Red and Cloud.

“Yeah.” Cloud agrees.

“Thank you, Tifa.” Red says, “I appreciate you listening to me and giving me hope.”

Tifa blushes, “No problem, Red. I want everybody in our party to… be okay.”

Cloud looks at Tifa and he feels a deep sadness overcome him by these words. There was no guarantee that everyone would be okay, but they had to keep moving.

***

Aerith and Yuffie entered the room and changed into more comfortable attire. Yuffie kept looking over to Aerith, wondering if she should say something about Aerith’s sudden departure from the rest of the group.

“So… that Cait Sith, huh?” Yuffie says nervously.

“Yeah, screw him.” Aerith says. Yuffie looks at her, a bit surprised at this comment.

They start to hear muffled voices outside of the door and look at each other, then nod and slowly creep over to the door.

“Is that Cloud and Tifa?” Yuffie whispers as low as she can.

Aerith nods and leans closer to try and listen.

_“…okay tonight?”_

_“I think so…”_

_“Do you want to talk?”_

_“I really want to get out of this outfit and get this crazy stuff out of my hair!”_

_“I don’t think I can help you with that…”_

_A soft chuckle from Tifa, “I think it would take you a while.”_

_A grunt of agreement from Cloud, “I’ll… be in the room with the others, but… If you need anything… Just come and get me.”_

_“I will, Cloud… Goodnight.”_

_“Goodnight, Tifa.”_

Aerith and Yuffie look at each other and try to suppress a giggle. They weren’t prepared for the door to suddenly swing open door. The two girls scream and fly backwards. Aerith had tried to turn around, and lands face first on the floor. Yuffie lands, barely, on her feet. A stunned Tifa is looking at them with a stunned and confused Cloud looking over her shoulder.

“Heya…” Aerith says as she pushes herself up, groaning from the rug burn starting to set in on her face.

“U-Um… hey guys…” Tifa tilts her head, “Is everything okay?”

“Oh yeahhhh!” Yuffie laughs nervously, “We just – uh – well we heard noises and were getting ready to attack any intruders!”

“Yeah, that’s it!”

Cloud still looks confused, but Tifa’s face is one of suspicion, “Intruders, huh?”

“Yup!”

She smiles and rolls her eyes before turning back to Cloud, “Goodnight…”

“Goodnight…”

She closes the door slowly and turns back to the two in the room, “Were you listening?”

“Um… Do you guys always say goodnight to each other twice?” Aerith asks.

Tifa laughs a bit, “No, I don’t think so?”

“You guys are so weird.” Yuffie turns around and begins to settle into a bed.

“Oh no you don’t! You heard her. We need to get these bobby pins out of her hair!” Aerith puts her hands on her hips and gives Yuffie a stern look.

“Oh, it’s okay—”

“No, we’re going to do it together.” Aerith says sternly.

“But I’m tireeddddd.” Yuffie whines and slams a pillow over her face.

“It’s really okay…” Tifa starts and laughs nervously.

Aerith walks over to the bed and stares at Yuffie more. Yuffie tries to give a meaner stare back but fails, “Fine! This better not take too long!”

“It won’t!” Aerith says cheerfully and then looks to Tifa, “Have a seat!”

Tifa sits down slowly and braces herself for the onslaught of bobby pin removal from her hair. Aerith and Yuffie begin picking through and carefully taking out each pin, one by one, and placing them on the desk next to her. This was going to take a while.

***

Cloud enters the room and hears that the TV is on. Barret is sitting propped up a bit on one of the three beds while Cid is snoring in another. Vincent is sitting on the last one with Red and Cait Sith. Another night, and no bed for Cloud.

“Hey, man.” Barret says, “You good?”

“Yeah, just tired.” Cloud takes his sword off and props it against the wall and then removes his gloves, pauldron and holster. He then takes a spot on the floor.

“We could push Cid off of the bed. He probably wouldn’t notice.” Red says dryly. Barret and Vincent chuckle.

“It’s alright.” Cloud says and leans his head back against the wall.

“What a night.” Barret starts and rubs his hand down his face, “Feels like it lasted way too long.”

Cloud grunts in agreement.

“We got to fight shit, you became a celebrity, and then we had to..” Barret motions over towards Cait Sith’s motionless form.

“Yeah…”

“Oh yeah, the girls got you some more comfortable clothes. We all got them on, well, except Cid, cuz he just kinda passed out…” Barret shakes his head, “But you should get them on. Aerith said her and Yuffie picked them out especially for you.”

“Great… I’m good.”

“Don’t be like that, man.”

Cloud looks over and notices that Barret and Vincent both are in what appear to be more comfortable clothes. A basic t-shirt and shorts for Barret, and long-sleeve shirt and pants for Vincent. Then Cloud realizes Vincent just has his cloak off.

“Okay, well Cid and Vincent don’t, but you can.” Barret says.

Cloud sighs, “Fine.” He gets up and Barret points to a basic white t-shirt and navy shorts on the desk.

He heads into the bathroom to change. At least it wasn’t anything crazy.

***

“I don’t even think it took this long to do my hair…” Tifa sighs, “I’ve never had an updo, so I guess I didn’t know what to expect.”

“Well, we should almost be done!” Aerith says cheerfully, “Besides, everybody should have an updo once in their life, right?”

“I guess.”

About ten minutes later, Aerith victoriously pulls out the last bobby pin, “There all 66 gone! Now you can wash out all of the product they used!”

Tifa stands up and stretches, relieved that it’s over. Her hair feels crunchy and looks crazy. They start laughing over how ridiculous it looks as Tifa walks towards the bathroom for the shower. Aerith takes out her PHS and notices she has a message.

**Barret:** no bed for cloud not sure if u guys have an extra 1

Aerith’s lips curl into her Evil smile.

**Aerith:** Sure we do! Send him down. 😊

“What’s up?” Yuffie says while yawning.

Aerith still has her Evil smile activated, “Cloud doesn’t have a bed.”

Yuffie snickers and then her face drops, “I don’t have any money left. You took it all!”

“I do payment plans, you know.”

***

Cloud decided to shower and then change. Why not? He had a rare chance to try and be somewhat of a normal human. He shakes his head a few times, allowing his gravity defying spikes to come back up with little effort and then goes back to the room.

He’s about to sit back down in his spot on the floor when Barret speaks up, “Hey, girls said they have another bed.”

Cloud blinks at him a few times.

“You should go down there. Need a good night’s sleep – aren’t we going to the Temple tomorrow?”

“I suppose.”

“I don’t think they’re tryin’ to do anything funny.” Barret says but his face isn’t very convincing.

Cloud sighs and rolls his eyes before leaving the room, feeling insanely vulnerable considering he has no shoes on and no sword. He walks down the hall towards the girls’ room and stands in front of the door, sighing again, before softly knocking. He hears feet pattering towards the door and it flies open.

“Heya, Cloud!” Aerith says cheerfully, “Come on in!”

Cloud narrows his eyes on her and then slowly walks in. As he does, the bathroom door opens and out comes Tifa wrapped only in a towel. Cloud freezes, she doesn’t notice at first and throws her head forward to wrap her long hair into another towel. The movements are dangerous.

Cloud makes a noise that can’t be described. He attempts to turn and bolt, but Aerith is still leaning against the door, full Evil smile active.

“Cloud?!” Tifa yells and throws her hands up to her chest to ensure the towel is secure.

He diverts his eyes anywhere. That painting of a landscape looks good to stare at, “S-Sorry… Barret sent me down here… because there’s no bed.” He clears his throat and continues to stare at the landscape picture. He also now wanted to kill whoever thought normal gym shorts were a good idea.

“Oh, no, it’s okay. You just startled me.” She laughs nervously, “I wasn’t expecting you to be standing there that’s all.”

Tifa walks over and grabs her nightclothes and goes back in the bathroom. Aerith walks away from the door and looks at Cloud, who is extremely red and looks extremely mad.

“You did this on purpose.” He narrows his eyes on her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She sings to him and skips over to one of the three beds. Yuffie, of course is already occupying the other.

Cloud looks at the setup, “Well, it looks like I don’t have a bed here either…”

“Sure you do!” Aerith points to the empty one.

“And where is Tifa going to sleep?” Cloud asks.

Aerith stares at him like he’s a moron, “With me, silly.”

Cloud blinks a few times and nods. He slowly gets into the bed.

“Aren’t you going to sleep under the covers?” Yuffie asks.

Cloud sighs and gets up to pull back the covers and get under them. He rolls away from the other two girls and stares at the wall.

Tifa emerges from the bathroom and freezes at the setup. Aerith pats the spot next to her on the bed. Tifa smiles and gets in with her.

Cloud realizes that the kiss they shared during the play did something, because now he felt incredibly nervous about the fact he was sleeping in the same room as her. He also just saw her in a towel. His mind was going to a dangerous place that he needed to stop. He closes his eyes and begins to try and think of non-Tifa things – fails – but still slowly drifts to sleep.

***

_It’s black. Everything is black. I don’t know where I am. Cloud is walking in front of me, further and further. I try to scream, and nothing comes out, I try to run, and my legs are moving like they’re weighed down. I’m scared. Where is Cloud? Why is he going away? He’s disappearing._

_“YOU DID THIS.”_

_“YOU COULD HAVE PREVENTED THIS!”_

_“This is all your fault…”_

_No! Cloud! Cloud, please! Come back!_

_I need you…_

***

Tifa’s eyes fly open and she’s sweating. Aerith is facing away from her, seemingly in a deep sleep. Yuffie is drooling on her pillow, also in a deep sleep. She looks over at the clock: 0307. She slowly sits up and looks over at Cloud. He seems to be sleeping soundly… The voice. Who was that? It was unrecognizable. It almost sounded like… her own voice?

Without even thinking, she slowly gets out of bed and gets behind him. She places her arm over his abdomen and pulls herself close to is back.

She feels him freeze.

“Tifa…?” He whispers.

“Yeah…”

“You okay?” He asks her softly.

Tifa can’t control the tears now. The dream seemed so real, like Cloud was going away… She tries to hide in his back, but he feels the warmth and wetness of the tears soaking into his shirt. He’s warm and smells good. She wanted to try and forget the yelling from her dream – telling her things were her fault. What was her fault? What did she do? Was it about Sector 7? Avalanche?

He gently turns to her, “Hey… what’s wrong?”

She is always so surprised by how sweet he is with her. His voice is so soft, like silk, and it just runs through her, giving her such a calm feeling. His eyes are full of concern as he slowly brings his hand up to her face and wipes a few tears away. She can tell he is a bit groggy, from being surprised awake.

“I had a dream.” She chokes out, “I know it’s stupid…”

“It’s not stupid…”

“You were going away, far away…” Tifa sobs quietly, “You couldn’t hear me, and everything was black.”

He looks at her and brushes a few strands of hair out of her face, “I’m here right.”

“I know… I just needed to make sure…” She laughs quietly, “I’m really sorry… I shouldn’t have… I mean it’s only a dream.”

“Only a dream… I’m here…” He says softly and he continues to gently rub his thumb across her cheek, “I’m not going anywhere…”

She looks him in the eye with a look of pure adoration. A part of her wants to kiss him, which surprises her. The kiss during the play was only for acting, right? It probably didn’t mean anything to Cloud. Did it mean anything to her? He pulls her closer so her head can rest against his chest. He nuzzles the top of her head and closes his eyes.

“Thank you, Cloud.” She whispers into his chest. Tifa can’t help but notice that the hard edge Cloud showed up with was softening even more than she previously thought. He really is just a big softie and is truly a really nice guy.

Cloud starts to feel her relax and beings to drift off to sleep.

_“I never want to leave you… Tifa…”_

***

_“So, the Temple of the Ancients…” Zack says solemnly, “This must be a special place for you.”_

_Aerith smiles and looks down, “Yeah…”_

_The team is camping near a wooded area. A small fire is going. Cloud and Tifa are sitting across from Zack and Aerith, while Red snoozes off to the side. Yuffie has just headed into the tent to call it a night._

_Zack looks over to Tifa, “Talk to Marlene today?”_

_Tifa sighs, “Yeah, Marlene is doing well.” She laughs, “She keeps asking if Biggs and Wedge should be drinking while working… but… Jessie is keeping them in line.”_

_Aerith laughs, “Jessie is great!”_

_Cloud scoffs._

_Tifa looks at him and laughs, “Jessie had a crush on Cloud.”_

_“I remember. You got all red when you found out she’d be excited because you were going on the same mission.” Zack flashes a smile at him._

_Cloud glares at Zack._

_“Sector 7 is so cozy…” Aerith smiles._

_“It’s a good thing we got there in time to stop their plans…” Cloud says, “Can you imagine if the plate would have fallen?”_

_“No…” Tifa shudders a bit and Cloud puts an arm around her shoulders._

_“Well, it probably helped that the Turks stalled… then with the President getting assassinated…” Zack sighs and lays back on the ground with his hands behind his back._

_“Do you ever feel like things… feel weird?” Tifa asks._

_“What do you mean?” Aerith asks._

_“Well… like… things happen that shouldn’t? Like everything seems to work itself out without much intervention?”_

_“Hmm… Maybe we just have good luck?” Zack sits up and props himself on one of his elbows, “I don’t think it’s a bad thing, do you? Could be the fairies.”_

_Tifa smiles at Zack’s last comment, “No, it’s just… odd. Like I really felt deep down that the plate was going to fall… and it didn’t…”_

_Cloud looks over at her, “You were just preparing for the worst, that’s all.”_

_She smiles at him, “Maybe you’re right.” She gives him a quick peck on the lips and blushes._

_“Dawwww!” Zack says._

_Cloud is blushing and gives Zack a death stare._

_“What? I think it’s cute. That young love.” Zack sighs happily and smiles._

_“Oh, you…” Aerith giggles._

_“We should probably get some sleep…” Cloud says and stands up with Tifa following._

_“Yeah, yeah… Should we tell Red to go in with Vincent, Barret, and Cait?” Zack asks._

_“Looks like he’s pretty cozy.” Aerith says._

_“Alright, then.” Zack chuckles, “We’ll leave him to it. Goodnight you two. Don’t do anything too loud!” Zack flashes another smile and waves as Tifa blushes and giggles. Cloud gives him a long stare down before finally turning into the tent._

_“He’s going to kill you one day… What insurance policy do you have?” Aerith laughs._

_“Hmm, I think it should cover being murdered!” Zack smiles at her. He yawns and stretches, “We should probably get some sleep as well.”_

_Aerith beings to stare at the fire and her look becomes more serious, “Umm, I wanted to sit by the fire, just a little bit longer… if that’s okay.”_

_“Sure. Anything you want.” Zack sits up and scoots closer to her._

_“I wonder what it’ll be like inside?”_

_“Hmm… I would say… Very ancient.”_

_Aerith hits him playfully, “You’re silly.”_

_“Hey, let’s talk about Cloud and Tifa because it’s funny.” Zack says, thinking maybe it’ll cheer her up._

_“What about them?” She raises an eyebrow._

_“How long have they been a pair?”_

_“Well, I don’t know. Maybe they aren’t into all those labels?”_

_“Well, you’re my girlfriend, right?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“So Tifa is Cloud’s girlfriend.”_

_Aerith thinks for a moment, “I bet he’s never asked her…”_

_“Oh no… I bet he just assumes it…” Zack lets out a laugh._

_“Hmm… well, that may be okay. She seems okay with it.” Aerith smiles._

_“Yeah…”_

_The sit in silence for a few moments._

_Aerith finally breaks it, “I can hear it very loudly here…”_

_“Huh? Cloud and Tifa?”_

_“No, no, dummy!” Aerith laughs softly, “The… Planet. It’s so strong here.”_

_“Well, we are about 100 feet away from the Temple, right?”_

_“Yeah… that must be it.”_

_“What are they saying? How handsome I am?”_

_“Oh, stop it.” She can’t help but laugh, “I can’t really make it out… but they seem very… distraught. Like trying to warn me about something.”_

_“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you. Promise.”_

_Aerith smiles at him and kisses him gently. Zack smiles at her and then pulls her in close to hold her against his chest._

_“I’m sure everything will be fine…” He says softly to her._

***

Aerith sighs happily, “They’re getting cuter.”

“Yuck.” Yuffie looks over to the bed that holds Cloud and Tifa, “Looks lame to me.”

“Oh, one day you’ll know what it’s like.”

“No way! I’m _way_ too busy for stuff like that!” Yuffie crosses her arms and looks proud.

“You never know.” Aerith says and finishes fixing her hair, ready to start the day.

“I’m starving!” Yuffie grabs her stomach.

“Let’s get them up, then!” Aerith says cheerfully.

“HEY YOU GUYS?!” Yuffie yells loudly, causing both to bolt awake.

Tifa sighs heavily and forces a smile. Cloud lays back down and rolls away from everyone.

“We’re hungry.” Yuffie says.

“Okay…” Tifa stretches and yawns, “I’ll get up.” Tifa goes right into the bathroom to get ready.

“I wonder what kind of food they have here?” Yuffie begins to dream of all the possibilities.

“Probably nothing exciting, that’s for sure…” Aerith laughs.

Tifa emerges from the bathroom.

“That was quick!” Aerith says. Cloud is still lying in bed.

“Cloud?” Yuffie asks.

“…Give me a minute…” Cloud says.

“Why?” Yuffie asks and cocks an eyebrow.

“……”

“Huh?” Tifa asks.

Aerith laughs nervously, “Maybe we should let him catch up later…”

“Why?” Yuffie asks.

Aerith leads the other two women out into the hall and shuts the door.

“Why couldn’t he get up?” Yuffie asks again.

“Sometimes guys need to chill for a few minutes in the morning…” Aerith laughs nervously, again.

Yuffie looks at her, confused.

Tifa thinks for a moment, “OH!” She starts to blush.

“What?!” Yuffie asks.

“It’s nothing, Yuffie… Just drop it.” Tifa says, somewhat sternly.

“Well how come he didn’t have this issue before?” Yuffie asks.

“…He was wearing different clothes.” Aerith says, somewhat carefully.

“Why does that make a difference?”

“Can we _please_ stop talking about this?” Tifa pleads and walks a bit ahead of them.

“I don’t get what the big—” Yuffie freezes, “OH. OH WHY?! WHY DID I THINK TOO HARD ABOUT THIS?! EW, EW, EW!”

Aerith starts laughing and Tifa can’t help but let out a bit of a chuckle herself.

***

“You hurtin’?” Barret asks a hunched over Cid.

“Ugh, man, the shit they serve at the bar here has to be from the bottom of a damn septic tank.” Cid grunts.

“Cid, the whiskey had a green hue.” Red states.

“They told me it was magic!” Cid yells back.

“Hmph, well maybe next time you won’t drink so much that you can barely walk.” Vincent looks straight at him.

“Whatever, whatever… I enjoyed myself.” Cid sighs heavily and stands, “Well, let’s get this show on the road.”

“Wait, where’s Cloud?” Barret asks.

They hear the door open and in walks Cloud, who goes straight to the bathroom, seemingly to get changed.

“Speak of the devil.” Cid begins to walk towards the desk to collect some of his things.

“What is the plan for today?” Red asks.

Barret looks towards the bathroom, “Gotta wait for him… I assume the Temple.”

“Hmph.” Cait Sith says.

Barret snaps his head towards him, “What, you got somethin’ to say?”

“I don’t know why you bother. You don’t have the Keystone and they aren’t going today.” He says casually.

Vincent steps towards him, “Is there a reason they are waiting?”

Cait Sith thinks for a moment, “The Turks are on vacation… well, some of them are.”

“Vacation?” Barret laughs.

“Yes, vacation. It means they took a break off from work.” Cait Sith says back.

“I _know_ what it means, cat.” Barret steps forward.

Cait Sith puts his paws up, “I didn’t say you didn’t!”

“So where are they on vacation?” Red asks.

“Why does that matter?” Cait Sith looks to Red.

“Well, maybe we can go pay ‘em a visit, get the Keystone from them…” Barret rubs his chin.

Cloud emerges from the bathroom, “What about the Keystone.” He gives Cait Sith a dirty look.

“Turks are on vacation somewhere.” Barret says, “Thinking we should pay them a visit…”

“It won’t matter. Tseng isn’t with them.” Cait Sith sighs, “If you must know, they’re near Wutai from what I remember them saying.”

“Wutai? Isn’t that a bit of a risk for Shinra to be in Wutai right now?” Cloud asks.

“They don’t care. They’re on vacation.” Cait Sith shrugs.

“We should decide on what we’re doing today, so we can move.” Vincent states dryly.

“I say we go. May find out some good info. Plus I’ve always wanted to go there…” Barret chuckles.

“I don’t think Aerith will mind if we go there to find out more information on the Keystone and their plans.” Red says.

“Right.” Cloud says, “Let’s meet up with Tifa and the others. They’re already downstairs. We’ll tell them the plan and get going.”

***

After an uneventful breakfast, except for Yuffie complaining about not having a buffet full of options, the team set off towards the Gongaga area, where the Tiny Bronco was waiting for them. The trip didn’t take very long, surprisingly, but the party barely fit in the Buggy now that Cid and Vincent had joined. Yuffie had to sit on Aerith’s lap for most of the trip.

“Okay, so… I don’t think we’re all gonna fit on the Tiny Bronco.” Barret scratches the back of his head.

“Well, I’m sure it has a weight limit.” Red looks at Barret.

“Hey, Red, man… Not cool.” Barret frowns.

Cloud sighs, “So how do we want to handle this?”

Cid grunts, “I mean I can stay behind… make camp for later or something…”

“You’re severely hung over.” Red states.

“Yeah, whatever… I told you that place poisoned me.” Cid groans again and lights a cigarette.

“Then who is staying with Cid?” Cloud looks to the group.

“I can stay and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.” Red states.

“Hey!”

“Okay, Red will stay. Anybody else?” Cloud looks around. Barret shakes his head.

“Well I _have_ to go.” Yuffie laughs nervously.

Cloud looks at her, confused, “Okay?”

“I’d like to come with you as well, Cloud. If you don’t mind.” Vincent says.

“Tifa and I are going, of course!” Aerith says cheerfully.

“Alright, fine, Red and Cid will stay behind and figure out what we’re doing for later. The rest of us will go to Wutai… as long as the Tiny Bronco holds us all…” Cloud looks at the Tiny Bronco and then back to the group.

“What about me?” Cait Sith asks.

“You are definitely coming with us.” Barret says and laughs in disbelief.

***

Somehow, the Tiny Bronco was able to handle the group. Vincent sat towards the back because he is the coolest one in the group. Yuffie and Aerith pretended they were tanning. Tifa sat towards the center with Cloud and Barret. Cait Sith was strapped to Barret’s back, and wasn’t happy about it.

Truthfully, Barret wasn’t very happy about this whole situation. He was right in the middle, holding on for dear life. Cloud was piloting the thing, after getting a crash course from a hung-over Cid earlier. Somehow, nobody had started fighting yet, but that may have been because of the high level of fear that was within Barret and clearly showing on his face.

“This thing moves pretty fast.” Tifa says, enjoying the breeze and trying to inject some calmness into the tense atmosphere.

“Yeah, sure does.” Cloud says back.

“How much further?” Barret asks nervously.

“Probably an hour…” Yuffie stretches out even more, heavily relaxed on Tranquilizers.

“I can see land ahead.” Vincent points.

“So, we’re closer?” Barret asks, hopefully.

“Nah, we gotta go through the pass.” Yuffie says casually.

“Pass?” Barret asks.

“It’s quick, don’t worry old man.”

“Man, you are a brat, you know that?”

Aerith giggles, “Why not? It’ll be fun. I’m excited! I’ve never been to Wutai!”

“Neither have I…” Tifa says.

“There’s a lot of history with Avalanche there.” Barret says, a bit calmer, “I’m curious to see if we find out anything.”

“That’s exciting!” Aerith perks up.

The party continues, mostly in silence, just enjoying the breeze and sunshine. When they land, they’re faced with a few trails and two draw bridges, which Barret has to be coaxed over, lovingly. Lovingly as in, Vincent stares at him until he moves.

“You real cold, you know that?” Barret says, “I think you’re worse than this guy.” Barret motions towards Cloud.

Cloud rolls his eyes, “Let’s just keep moving.” Vincent ignores Barret.

After crossing the second draw bridge, a very large, vibrant looking city comes into view. The architecture is unique and very different from anything they’d seen previously.

“Wow, this looks so cool!” Aerith says and jumps up and down a bit.

“Heh, yeah, of course!” Yuffie laughs nervously.

Tifa notices and looks over to Yuffie, “Are you okay?”

“Who?! Me?!” Yuffie snaps, “I’m fine!”

Cloud becomes suspicious as well.

The next thing they know, they’re enveloped in smoke and feeling dizzy. Aerith and Barret fall to the ground. Cait Sith lets out a muffled scream as he’s pinned under Barret. Tifa, Vincent, and Cloud are trying to stay strong, but are fading fast. They slowly go down…

***

“Only buy what we need, Cid.” Red sighs.

“What? Need beers for camping.” Cid says as he adds more beer to the cart, “Plus, not every day you can find Gongaga Beast!”

Red sighs and walks towards the supply area. He grabs a few tents with his mouth and places them in the cart, “I think we will also need food.”

“Yeah, they got some frozen dinners over there.” Cid begins to turn.

“I believe Tifa prefers to cook with fresh ingredients.”

“Psh, beggars can’t be choosers. I don’t see no fresh shit here.”

“Perhaps you’re right… We can make an exception. Can they be cooked over a fire?”

“Why not?”

“Because they’re in plastic.” Red gives Cid a look of concern.

“Alright, fine, we’ll see if there’s another store with something. Why aren’t we staying at the Inn here anyway?”

“They don’t have enough room for all of us. The Inn is very small due to the accident in this town, from what I’ve gathered listening to the villagers.”

“Oh, yeah…” Cid frowns, “True. Didn’t thinka that. Camping it is!” Cid grabs a few more six-packs of beer.

***

Tifa starts to move first and notices Yuffie picking Materia off of Barret’s equipment.

“Yuffie!” She yells and starts to get up.

“AHH!” Yuffie screams, dropping a green Materia. She begins to run, and they’re suddenly stopped by a few Shinra soldiers. Yuffie turns back towards the party and realizes she’s got a problem.

Cloud is now jumping up, sword drawn. Yuffie looks like a deer in headlights.

“What is going on?” Vincent asks as he gets up.

“Yuffie! How could you?” Tifa is clearly upset by this.

“I didn’t invite them!” Yuffie yelps and runs off past them, since they became interested in Cloud’s large sword.

“The hell you guys doing here?!” One of the soldiers asks and lifts his gun. Vincent takes a shot and takes him out quickly. Tifa knocks another out. Cloud attempts to cast Fire and can’t.

“What the hell?!”

“I think she took the Materia, Cloud!” Tifa says, out of breath. Aerith walks up behind the soldier and slams him in the back of the head with her staff.

“Take a break.” Aerith says gently as the soldier falls.

“Tifa, what did you say about the Materia?” Cloud asks.

“Yuffie took it! I saw her taking it out of Barret’s gun! I _knew_ it! I knew this would be a problem. She started acting strange as we approached here, and she often was keeping track of the amount of Materia we were collecting.” Tifa is livid.

Aerith frowns and looks down.

“Of all the times…” Cloud puts his sword on his back.

Barret jumps up suddenly, releasing Cait Sith from his prison between Barret and the ground. Barret looks around and then looks down at his gun, “Did I hear you right?”

“Yup.” Cloud sighs, “Gotta go get her. I knew we shouldn’t have come here…”

Aerith sees a green Materia orb lying on the ground and picks it up. She hands it to Tifa.

“Oh, Barrier Materia.” Tifa says, “Guess she dropped one…”

***

Cid takes a drag of his cigarette and exhales contentedly. Red is lounging nearby, resting.

“Don’t get many days to do this kinda thing.” Cid says and cracks open a beer.

“No. That’s true.” Red says lazily, “Perhaps it wasn’t so bad staying behind…”

“’Course it wasn’t! You get to hang out with me!”

Red snorts at this comment.

Somehow, Cid and Red had set up a few tents and made a somewhat cozy campsite near a few trees. The beach was in view, the sky was blue. It felt serene. An area was prepared to start a fire, the ingredients that they managed to find throughout Gongaga were set aside, and everything seemed perfect.

“Red, you want one of these?” Cid holds up an unopened beer.

“How do you propose I drink that?” Red asks.

“I dunno, I can put it in a bowl and you can lap it up?”

Red thinks for a moment, “I suppose.”

“Alright!”

***

Cloud and company ran into the city gates of Wutai. The stopped for a moment and began to scan the streets. Tifa’s eyes fall on Yuffie.

“There!” She begins to run towards her. Yuffie catches her out of the corner of her eye and yelps before taking off into a crowd of people, “Dammit!” Tifa stomps.

“Should we split up?” Barret suggests.

“Yeah, you, Cait Sith, and Vincent take the North side. Tifa, Aerith, and I will take this end.” Barret nods. Cloud just realized that he stuck himself with Tifa and Aerith again and is internally cursing himself.

“Let’s try the bar first. Somebody there may know who she is and have an idea of where she could be hiding.” Tifa suggests.

“Sounds good.” Cloud smirks at her and they head towards the bar.

Upon entering, they see bright red hair, a bald head, and a blonde woman. The Turks. However, they were definitely on vacation. Reno was dressed in a floral button up shirt and shorts, Rude in a pink polo and khaki shorts, and Elena in a yellow tank top and jeans. Reno spots Cloud and rolls his eyes.

Cloud stares over at him and sees Rude and Elena turn to face him as well. Elena jumps up and begins to say something, but Reno tells her to sit down.

“What the hell are you guys doing here?” Reno asks, clearly annoyed.

“Could ask you the same. Why are the Turks in Wutai?” Cloud narrows his eyes.

Reno snorts and takes a swig of his drink, “We are on vacation. So, scram, you’re going to ruin my buzz.”

Elena is still blushing from her sudden attempt at an outburst and stares them down. Cloud isn’t sure where Rude is looking since he has his sunglasses on, of course, but slightly steps in front of Tifa just in case. Aerith suppresses her amusement of this. Barret and Vincent hand her 30 Gil.

“Listen, we ain’t gonna bother you if you don’t bother us. I’m off the clock. Don’t give a shit what you all are doing here.” Reno says and continues to drink.

Cloud sighs, “We need to know about the Keystone.”

Reno spits a bit of his drink and starts cackling, “Why would I tell you clowns that? Maybe after another fifty drinks.” He gives the a shit eating grin.

The three turn towards the bartender and walk away from the Turks.

“Well, I guess we can’t ask them about the Keystone.” Aerith says sadly.

“Yeah, guess not…” Tifa replies.

Cloud looks away from the two girls and towards the waiting bartender, “You know a girl named Yuffie?”

The bartender’s eyes widen slightly, and he looks down and shakes his head, “No idea who that is. Sorry.”

Cloud is suspicious, but decides against pushing, “Well, thanks.”

“Now what?” Tifa asks.

“Guess we keep looking.” Cloud sighs.

They leave the bar and see Yuffie flash by them. Barreling up behind her are Vincent, Barret, and Cait Sith in hot pursuit, “Get back here you little--!” Barret yells as he runs. Yuffie disappears into a crowd again.

“Dammit!” Barret hangs his head and sighs, “She’s fast!”

Vincent shakes his head and continues to look towards the crowd that she disappeared in.

“Let’s go in that direction and see if we can figure out where she went…” Cloud sighs.

A small home is located behind the crowds. The group looks at each other, trying to determine if they should go in. Tifa sighs and knocks on the door. A little girl answers and gives her a weird look. From behind her, an old man asks who it is.

“It’s more weird people, grandpa.”

“Oh, let them in.”

“Why?”

“Don’t be rude!”

The little girl rolls her eyes and steps aside to let the group in.

“Are you here for my massage?” The old man looks at Tifa and asks.

“U-Uh, no. I’m sorry, we’re actually looking for someone.”

“Talerie, is that you?” The old man asks her.

“Who?” Aerith looks over at the rest of the group.

“Talerie. She does my massages. She’s an angry woman. Does a real good job. You sure you aren’t her?” The old man asks.

“No, I’m sorry.”

“Well, whatever. I’ll get ready.” The old man begins to take his robe off.

“NO!” Everyone screams in unison.

The old man looks at them and blinks a few times. They hear shuffling over in a corner, behind a privacy screen. Vincent slowly walks over and pushes the screen aside, revealing a crouching Yuffie. Barret attempts to block her, but fails, as she slips right out the door.

“Goddammit!” Barret growls.

The team runs out again and sees Yuffie, once again, disappear into a crowd.

“This is getting really annoying.” Cait Sith begins to show some irritation, “Get the Turks to find her!”

Cloud and Barret look at Cait Sith like he has two heads, considering there’s no way the Turks are going to help them out. If anything, they’d laugh at them for being so careless, and Cloud wasn’t going to give them the pleasure.

Tifa is ahead of the crowd, looking around like a madwoman. She’s clearly frustrated and angry at Yuffie. They overhear two children talking about a crazy girl running into the weapons shop.

“Need to do some shopping?” Aerith asks the group.

“Guess so.” Cloud heads to the entrance. Inside, there are two employees who are clearly nervous about something.

“Hey, sorry, nothing for sale. No stock.” The weapons shop owner says nervously.

“Really? A town like this has no stock of weapons?” Cloud cocks an eyebrow.

“Nope, nothing. Sorry…” The weapons shop owner seems oddly unapologetic for this.

While their backs are turned to the entrance, they hear a whoosh behind them. Yuffie jumps down from the ceiling and disappears out the door.

“This girl is slippery.” Vincent states. Out they go.

Again, two kids alert them to the direction that Yuffie must be heading. This time, it’s the item shop. The team makes their way over and enters. They are once again greeted by two nervous looking employees.

“Oh! Look! A treasure chest!” Aerith says cheerfully and hops over to it. She opens the treasure chest and sees a blue Materia orb inside.

“Huh… MP Absorb Materia?” Tifa looks at it for a moment. The next thing she knows, Yuffie is jumping down from the ceiling and snatching the Materia. She runs away. The two employees look away from the group and pretend they saw nothing.

Tifa grits her teeth and growls. Cloud’s eyes go a bit wide, somewhat fearful of what she may do to this young girl, but at the same time, is somewhat curious to see it.

After leaving the item shop, the team makes their way back to the bar.

“Right back where we started.” Cloud sighs.

Vincent’s head snaps towards the entrance to the bar. A large barrel is sitting to the left and is moving slightly. He puts his hand up to alert the team to be quiet. They all look at each other and decide to split up and block possible exit.

Cloud slowly walks over to the barrel and kicks it. He hears a muffled groan. He kicks it again. A louder groan. This time he takes his sword off of his back, thinking he can break it just to scare her. She hears this and jumps out. Cloud makes no attempt to grab her, since she’s now surrounded. Tifa and Aerith are looking at her with their arms crossed. Aerith, in particular, is giving a mean pout. Tifa just looks angry. Barret is angry frowning and Vincent is being cool. Cait Sith is cursing under his breath at the girl.

“Okay! Fine! I’m sorry, okay?!” Yuffie pouts at Cloud.

“Where is it?” Tifa asks, sounding extremely disappointed.

Yuffie sighs, “Come with me… I’ll give you the Materia back…” She has them follow her to a larger home near the entrance of the city, presumably her own home. Once inside, she brings them to a room in the back that has statues inside.

She starts to sniffle a bit and hide her face in her hands, “I’m sorry. Wutai lost so much during the war. Even though it’s on pause, it still feels like Shinra takes everything from us. Our economy is struggling and so are our people. That’s why we have no stock.”

Tifa and Aerith both frown. Barret sighs sadly.

Cloud, Vincent, and Cait Sith look at her for a moment, very suspicious of this crying act.

“Okay… well… we need the Materia back.” Cloud says sternly.

Yuffie is still looking down and sniffling, “You can press the switch on the back wall there. The Materia is locked behind a secret door.”

Cloud and Vincent look at each other before proceeding to the back wall where the switch is. There are two switches.

“Which one?” Vincent looks at her coldly.

“It doesn’t matter, they both do the same thing.” Yuffie still is looking down.

Cloud turns to the switches and shrugs, “Whatever, I guess.”

As he’s pressing the button, Tifa catches Yuffie creeping slowly out of the room, “Cloud! Wait!”

Too late, the button has already been pressed. Tifa had already started running towards her but was stopped short when a gate fell from the ceiling, blocking the exit.

“Haha, SUCKERSSS!” Yuffie laughs and punches the air triumphantly, “Have fun getting out of this!” She takes off running.

***

“So, I says to the guy, ‘How the hell would a 26-11 confirm your theory?’ and the guy is like, ‘They had a poster up!’” Cid starts cackling.

Red is also laughing, feeling a strong buzz from his bowls of beer, “What is a 26-11?”

“Oh, it’s a convenience store. They got some good beer there. Buy my smokes from the place.” Cid takes a drag of his cigarette.

“I see. That’s quite a story.” Red laps up a bit more beer.

“You like the beer?”

“Well, the longer I drink it, the less it tastes like Chocobo urine.”

Cid lets out a hearty laugh and takes a big chug of his beer, “You ever go fishin’, Red?”

“Well, it’d be a bit difficult without hands.”

“Nah, nah, see… Here’s what we’d do.” Cid leans forward, “We’d tie it to your back.”

“Ahhhh.” Red nods, “That could work.”

“Alright! Let’s do this thing!” Cid jumps up and pulls out two fishing poles from one of the tents.

“When did you buy those?” Red asks, laughing.

Cid shrugs, “Where were we earlier?”

“Now I forget myself. This beer is quite strong.” Red shakes his head, “Let’s try your fishing theory.”

“Power of the beast, baby!”

***

At this point, the team was especially concerned about Tifa’s anger level. Yuffie has made them look like fools the entire time. Aerith is walking next to Tifa, her hands clasped. Tifa’s fists are balled up as she stomps through the city. Barret swore he could see steam coming off of her. Vincent and Cait Sith are staying a bit far back. Cloud is having an internal struggle on whether he should say her name or not and is afraid that any type of interruption of her Yuffie hunt could put everyone in danger.

As they approach the northern end of the city, they spot a bald man in a pink polo running behind a red-haired guy in a floral shirt. Tifa stops and looks towards their direction. She turns back to Cloud and he nods his understanding. The team runs after them. The two Turks run into the side door of a building.

As the get closer, they hear a struggle and Reno yell Elena’s name. Cloud quickly runs ahead and into the building, stopping dead in his tracks. The others catch up and see a room that looks way too familiar to a certain Don of Wall Market.

In previous times, the worst sound for Cloud was the ‘Bro Mating Call’ that Johnny would do. The laugh of Don Corneo was above that in terms of worst things Cloud can hear. He now hears that laugh and cringes.

“LET ME DOWN YOU SMELLY OLD CREEP!” Yuffie is screaming as the Don carries her up a flight of stairs and disappears. Reno and Rude go after him but are stopped by a steel door at the top.

Tifa hears somebody groan from behind a stack of boxes and walks towards it.

“Leslie?!” She gasps. Cloud walks over as well as Tifa is helping the silver-haired man up.

“Yeah…” Leslie responds and groans again, “Son of a bitch got me again…”

“Is this why you’re in Wutai?” Cloud asks.

Leslie sighs, “Yeah… We heard he was hiding out here. He had an annex home… The blonde woman was taken first, then he happened to spot the younger girl and took her too.”

Reno and Rude walk towards the team and everyone prepares to fight.

“Listen…” Reno starts, “Let’s call a temporary truce…”

Cloud’s eyes narrow but he decides to hear him out.

“That greasy fat ass took Elena. Tseng will kill us if anything happens to her.” Reno starts, “And I know he’s got one of your chicks too.”

“So, you want to team up with us to find him?” Aerith asks suspiciously.

“Not team up. Stay neutral. You stay out of our way; we’ll stay out of yours. You find them first, you let us know and if we find them first you let us know. Then I’m going back on vacation and you shit-birds can do whatever you want.” Reno gives a grin. Rude nods in agreement.

“Fine.” Cloud says flatly.

***

“Let me down you smelly fat greaseball!” Yuffie screams and struggles.

Don Corneo, in all his greasy, fat glory has captured two young women and tied them up against the large Da-chao Statue. The other woman with Yuffie, Elena, was struggling as well, but upon looking down, froze. Yuffie continued to scream and lash and the ropes.

“Umm… excuse me…” Elena starts, her voice shaking.

Yuffie shoots a look to her, “WHAT?!”

“Umm… you may want to second think trying to escape…” Elena motions down.

Yuffie looks down and gasps, “YOU WOULDN’T!”

Don Corneo laughs a freakish laugh and smirks, “It will have to do. I don’t have my precious sewers at my disposal… to dispose of you!”

“You’d better let us down safely! I’m a Turk, you know!” Elena gives him a death glare. Corneo cackles at her and strolls in her direction.

“The Turks, huh? What makes you think the Turks don’t help me?” He gives her a devious smile.

Elena opens her mouth but has no idea what to say. The Turks can’t possibly be helping out Don Corneo, the sleazeball of Wall Market, could they?

“Maybe your fatass should stop lying, Don.” A voice comes from one side of the rock face.

Reno appears with Rude. Don Corneo laughs, “Oh, no! What shall I do? Spare me, please, Turks. Your power is immense!”

“Shut up.” Rude simply states and begins to walk towards Yuffie and Elena.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” Don says, “Only one can come down – the other would tumble on down to the cavern below!” He cackles more.

“You know, you’ve got a really stupid laugh.” A woman’s voice, this time, coming from the opposite direction.

“YOU THREE!?” The Don’s face loses its arrogant smirk and turns into a scowl.

Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith appear followed by Barret, Vincent, and Cait Sith.

“Let them go.” Cloud says sternly.

“Or what?” Don asks.

Cloud smirks and him and the others step aside. Leslie appears from behind Barret.

“Leslie?! What the hell are you doing here?!” Don laughs, “You’ve failed to take me down twice now. What do you think you’ll do this time?”

“Probably throw you off this cliff.” Leslie smirks.

Don Corneo laughs his obnoxious laugh, thinking very little of Leslie’s skill in taking him down based on past experience.

“Hey, dumbass. Your back is to the cliff’s edge.” Barret stares, “Didn’t think this one through, did ya?”

Don freezes and slowly looks behind him.

“Fine.” He says and pulls out a gun, “I can shoot them faster than I can drop them.” He points the gun towards Elena.

Everyone freezes.

Reno is still behind Corneo and out of his sight. His eyes meet Cloud’s and the two men seem to come to a silent agreement. Reno shocks Corneo in the back of the leg, causing him jolt up and shoot. Everyone ducks and luckily the bullet comes nowhere near anyone. During the panic, Vincent somehow bolts over and disarms him. Corneo falls to his knees and grunts.

Cloud slowly begins to approach him. Corneo shoots a devious smirk at Cloud. He laughs and pulls out a whistle, “Have fun with my newest pet!”

Corneo blows the whistle and a large bird like creature comes swooping down towards the team. Cloud pulls Tifa and Aerith out of the way before it hits them. It lands in front of Corneo and screeches.

“Well, well, well… How is this going to work out for you, hmm?” Corneo laughs again.

Cloud realizes they have no Materia and this is a flying monster. Barret and Vincent will need to do the bulk of the work since Tifa and him would be in extreme danger jumping around on the top the Da-chao Statue. Aerith has no spells at her disposal at this point and Cait Sith can only try to stun it with his Megaphone. Barret and Vincent begin to shoot. Luckily, Reno and Rude do have some Materia equipped so are able to throw a few spells towards it.

While this is going on, Corneo tries to escape from everyone. Leslie notices and tries to subdue him but is pushed and comes dangerously close to the cliff’s edge. Rude suddenly comes in and kicks Corneo in the side of the face. He grunts again. His bird friend lets out one last desperate screech and falls suddenly, disappearing into the ravine below. Yuffie and Elena are now turned upside down and screaming.

“HEY! TURN ME BACK UP!” Yuffie screams.

“Yuffie, try to stay calm, okay?” Tifa says as calmly as she can, putting her anger aside and her hands up in front of her to try to sooth the young girl from a distance.

Cloud looks at Corneo and narrows his eyes, “How do we get them down?”

“How about a game, hmm?” Corneo grins.

Vincent shakes his head, “No games. I don’t care what games you want to play so much as the idiotic way you want to do it. Tell us how to get them down. This has gone on long enough.”

Corneo slowly stands up and clears his throat, “I know you're all really biased and not particularly engaged as individuals go, but it's kind of academic when we have a scenario such as this, saying these women are attached to the wonderful Da-chao Statue and having to take photos of their possible last moments and every cameo after being about them being my new wife.”

Everyone looks at each other, confused, on what was just said. This sounded so ridiculous, so ridiculously random, and made absolutely no sense.

A woman’s sigh is heard from above. Corneo snaps his head towards the noise and sees three individuals sitting on the top of the statue’s head.

“You know, this is quite a boring production.” Madam M says as she fans herself, “I expected a much higher quality form of entertainment than an asinine poet.”

“Hmph, what do you expect?” Chocobo Sam says and flips a coin.

Andrea sits with his legs crossed, slowly rubbing his finger along his lip. The Trio sat as they would in the Corneo Colliseum. Andrea had two Moogle Girls with him, holding an umbrella over him to protect him from the sun. Madam M also held one over herself. Cloud looked over at Tifa and the both raised an eyebrow, unsure of when these three showed up without anyone noticing.

“You three?!” Corneo yells, “What the hell are you doing here!?”

“We came to catch the show.” Madam M giggles behind her fan, “Afterall, it’s not every day you see a greasy sleazeball fall to his death.” She throws her head back and lets out a maniacal laugh.

Corneo visibly gulps at this. Usually, these three were seemingly on his side and he knew that they could be dangerous – especially since he wasn’t on his home turf. He starts to try and slide away, but suddenly slips and yelps. He grabs onto the cliff side just in time and whimpers. He’s now hanging on for dear life off the edge of a very high cliff.

Leslie and Reno walk slowly over and peer down at him.

“Wait… did he slip on a… banana?” Cait Sith asks.

Reno gasps and pats his pockets down and realizes he must have dropped his snack, “Dammit, I was going to eat that, you fat shitsack!”

“P-Please. Please help me up!” Corneo begs, “I’ll give you whatever you want! I can get you women! Gil! You can have my mansion! My bed!”

Aerith gets a disgusted look on her face, “I think your bed should be set on fire… That’s the only thing that would clear the grease and sin from it.”

Tifa looks concerned for a moment and steps forward, but Aerith gently places her arm in front of her and shakes her head. Tifa sighs and looks down. Cloud glances over at her and tries to give her a look to let her realize this is necessary. Cloud wants to see the son of a bitch dead and so does everyone else there. 

Corneo’s breathing is increasing and his grip is slipping. Leslie places his foot over his left hand as Reno crushes the right under his boot. Corneo lets out a yelp and a whimper. As this is going on, Barret, Vincent, and Rude begin to slowly help the two women out of their predicament as carefully as they can, being mindful of anything strange that Corneo may have set up as a trap.

Leslie takes a breath and looks Corneo right in his beady eyes, “Where is she?”

“W-Who?”

“You know who… Merle.”

“I-If you let me up… I’ll tell you!”

“Not gonna happen.” Reno says.

“A-Alright… I don’t know. I released her.” Corneo’s breathing is labored as his hands have more pressure put on them, “S-She wasn’t sent to the sewers.”

Leslie’s face somewhat softened and he whispered to himself, “So she’s out there somewhere…”

Corneo cracks a friendly smile, “C-Can I come up now?”

Leslie’s face hardens again, and a smirk appears.

Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith walk up behind Leslie and Reno.

“I think we should play a game.” Aerith sings and gets the Chairith look on her face.

Tifa sighs and pushes her worries aside, forcing a smile, “A game sounds like a great idea. What do you think, Cloud?”

He looks at her and smirks, “I can think of a few games…”

“P-Please, I’m begging you… I-I can’t hold on much longer!” Corneo cries out.

“It’ll just be a simple question. If you get the answer right… We’ll reconsider your position.” Aerith gives him a look that is somehow innocent and evil at the same time.

“W-What’s the question?!”

“Which one of these items…” Tifa starts.

Cloud picks up, “Would help you out of this situation?”

“A promotional drink cup?” Aerith smiles.

“The color of a bowl?” Tifa smirks.

“Or a music box?” Barret booms from behind everyone as he gently places Yuffie down. 

Leslie and Reno slowly turn their heads back towards the group, confused on this question and how any of those things could help in this situation.

Reno scoffs, “What’s next? A girl that comes in third place on a poll? What stu--”

“That one!” Corneo pleads, “A girl could help me!”

Reno blinks and turns to Cloud, “Well? Were you guys actually going to do anything with this?”

Aerith steps forward, smiling deviously, “What was that question you asked us before you sent us on our vacation to the sewers?”

Corneo swallows and opens his mouth. As he’s about to answer, a loud belch comes from Barret’s mouth, causing everyone to jump. Unfortunately for Don Corneo, Leslie and Reno also jumped from this, loosening their hold on his hands, which he wasn’t prepared for. He slips and a scream is heard getting further and further away until it stops. Tifa has a hand over her mouth. Barret’s jaw is dropped as everyone turns to face him.

Madam M and Chocobo Sam begin to laugh and clap, while Andrea grunts a noise to show his satisfaction on the outcome.

“Uh…” Barret clears his throat, “Excuse me.”

Leslie turns to the group, looking like he has a new lease on life. A goal and potentially a reunion he’s been waiting for every moment of his life since she disappeared.

“So, Don Corneo’s cause of death…” Vincent starts.

“Death by sudden belching?” Cait Sith suggests.

Reno’s PHS rings. He sighs and pulls it out of his pocket, “Yeah?... Uh-huh… Yeah, yeah. We’re on it.” He hangs up and puts it away. Rude gives him a questioning look and Reno huffs, “Tseng. They want us to track down Cloud and them to try and slow them down from getting to the Temple of the Ancients.”

Elena begins to speak up and Rude shoots a look over at her. Sunglasses or not, she knew this meant to keep quiet.

Reno sighs, “I’m still on vacation. Did we see Cloud and them?” He looks at Rude.

“Nope.” Rude replies.

Reno and Rude look at the group. Cloud understands that this is their cue to get out of there before the Turks change their minds. Cloud also knows that this is their roundabout way to thank them for helping to get Elena back.

***

Dusk was approaching as they got closer to the Gongaga shore. The trip back was awkward and mostly silent. Yuffie had given everyone their Materia back and got a hell of a lecture from her father about integrity and honor. He even had her stay back after the rest of the team had been dismissed to talk to her further, to really reinforce the principles. Yuffie sat near the back, half asleep due to a few Tranquilizers to try and prevent her sea sickness.

Tifa looks over towards the approaching shore and sees a fire going, “Do you think that’s Cid and Red?”

“Guess we’re camping?” Aerith asked excitedly.

“Guess so…” Cloud trailed off. Today was exhausting, unexpected, and frustrated. First they have all of their Materia stolen, then they have a party member stolen by one of the worst people known to be in existence, then they had to go all the way back to the Gongaga area to prepare to try and get into the Temple of the Ancients, which they had no plan for.

As they get closer, they notice that Cid is sprawled out on the ground near the fire and Red is stumbling around a bit.

“Oh no!” Tifa gasps, “Are they hurt?!”

Cloud grits his teeth and tries to get the Tiny Bronco to go faster. This alerts Vincent and Barret as well, who prepare to get off as quickly as possible. As the hit the shoreline, they jump off. Cloud makes sure to turn off the engine and grab his sword.

“Heyyyy guysssss!” Red greets them happily.

“Uh… You guys are okay?” Tifa tilts her head.

“Oh YEAH!” Cid suddenly jumps up. He has no shirt on and something yellow all over him.

“What… did you guys do today?” Cloud asks, somewhat in a state of shock.

“Looks like it was a lot of fun!” Aerith says cheerfully.

“Looks like they drank a lot of the Beast.” Barret walks over to the pile of empty beer cans.

“Oh, yes! Cid showed me how to fish too!” Red yells.

“How?” Cait Sith asks, seriously doubting that this happened.

“Tied it to his back ya dumb cat.” Cid lights a cigarette and takes a drag.

Cloud puts his hand to his forehead and sighs, “You both realize we are going to the Temple tomorrow, right? Are you going to be able to function?”

“Oh, I’m already fine.” Red says. Red is much happier when he has beer in his system.

“Well then.” Tifa claps her hands together, “I assume you’re all hungry, so we should get started on preparing some food.” She looks over at Aerith who nods excitedly.

Yuffie looks at Cid, still a bit groggy, “Pops. Why are you yellow?”

Cid turns towards her, takes a swig of beer, a drag of his cigarette and says,

“I’m a banana!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty - hope you enjoyed it! Temple of the Ancients is next...


	11. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're getting into the angsty sad times... but I threw some humor in where appropriate. 
> 
> “I think you should focus on eating instead of talking about the colors of bowls and other various dinnerware.”  
> ***  
> “A terrible world… Don’t you think?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry on how slow some of these updates have been. Sometimes I get stuck with how to handle this stuff, but I've decided I'm going to just write this as I see fit - it's not truly trying to predict how Part 2 and beyond will go. It's for fun and enjoyment. 
> 
> I really hope the next couple of chapters come fast, since they're the ones I've been looking forward to writing the most. I just have to get over this hump.

Dread.

The dread would not stop. It was gnawing at her more and more. Dread of what tomorrow would bring. Dread of what the next week would bring. Would there even _be_ a next week? Dread that was making her feel crazy. Since she was fifteen years old, Tifa wanted to avoid getting too close. She wanted to avoid the empty feeling she felt when she finally woke up in Midgar and learned that her hometown had burned to the ground and everyone she knew from there and loved was gone.

She should be happy, right?

Her friends are sitting around a fire, sharing moments of laughter and poking fun. Barret and Cloud are strategizing on how to handle the transportation across the sea tomorrow. When Barret would turn or rub his hand down his face, Cloud would steal a glance over at her. He began to increase the frequency of these glances – he always seemed to know when something was bothering her.

Cid was passed out, the yellow mostly washed off of him, but not fully. Maybe he can pass as just having jaundice? He drank enough earlier in the day to justify that explanation. Red and Vincent were silently sitting on the other side, seemingly eavesdropping on the banter between Cloud and Barret. Yuffie was groaning about eating too much – again – and trying to figure out a way to digest her food faster. Cait Sith was practicing card tricks, it seemed.

“Hey.” Tifa jumps at the chipper voice coming from her left. Aerith softly offers a smile and scoots a bit closer until they are shoulder to shoulder, “What’s on your mind?”

“Oh, just thinking about tomorrow…” Tifa offers a weak smile back to her friend.

“I thought so.” Aerith sighed, “I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, Tifa. The worst we’ll have to deal with is Shinra causing a scene.”

Tifa offers a sound of agreement and brings her arms around her legs, hugging them.

Aerith thinks for a moment and looks to the star filled sky, “Sometimes… things don’t work out. We’ve learned that too many times on this journey.” Tifa slowly looks over to her, “But that doesn’t mean _nothing_ will work out, you know?” Aerith smiles and takes her hand, squeezing it gently.

Tifa smiles, “You’re right…” Tifa hears footsteps coming from her right and slowly looks over to see Cloud approaching them, looking somewhat concerned and frustrated. He stops next to her, almost as if he’s silently asking if it’s okay to sit. She pats the ground next to her with her free hand.

“Everything okay?” He asks her as he sits down.

“Oh! Yes. Everything is fine.” She smiles at him.

“Tifa…” He says somewhat quietly, but there’s a hint of disbelief in his voice.

“Seriously, everything is fine. Aerith and I are just enjoying the fire.” Aerith nods confidently at Cloud to confirm what Tifa is saying. Cloud sighs quietly but relaxes a bit.

“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Aerith asks.

“Well, unless we can find a way to fly over there… we’ll probably need to split into two groups.” Cloud begins, “There’s fear that the Tiny Bronco won’t support all of us and the equipment.”

“Who’s going with who?” Tifa asks, somewhat anxiously while internally slapping herself for sounding that anxious about it.

Cloud blinks a few times and – maybe – a slight blush appears across his cheeks, “I was thinking Aerith, you, Barret, and myself. Cid is going to _hopefully_ transport us there and then go back for the rest of the group.”

“Perfect!” Aerith pipes up, “What a great planner!” Tifa smiles and seems relieved. Cloud isn’t sure if it’s relief she is going with Aerith or she’s going with him. Maybe a mix.

“We will leave before sunrise.” Cloud continues, “So, make sure you’re prepared tonight. We estimate it’ll take a few hours. With the weight distribution being lighter, it may be a bit faster.”

“I need to go with you.” Cait Sith pipes up after shuffling a deck of cards, “Shinra is going to expect me to be with you.”

Cloud narrows his eyes on the traitorous cat, “How do you know Shinra is going to be there?”

“They’re already on their way.” He offers casually, “Maybe they’re already there.”

Cloud rolls his eyes and sighs, “You couldn’t have told us that sooner?”

“I just found out about ten minutes ago.” Cait Sith waddles his small body closer, “I wouldn’t have told you I’m going with you unless I knew they’d be there.”

Tifa looks suspiciously towards him, “Why are you helping us?”

Cait Sith turns away from her, “I… I don’t want anything to happen to Marlene.” Barret overhears the name of his daughter and perks up suddenly.

“The hell do you care for?” Barret scoffs.

“Contrary to what you may think, I’m not in the business of hurting children, no matter what the circumstances are.” Cait crosses his small arms, “Besides… for all I know, they’ll cast me aside once they’re done with this mission.”

“Hmph.” Vincent offers, “Are you only doing this because you are bitter that they may cast you aside or are you doing this because you truly do not want anything to happen to Marlene?” The party looks up, including Yuffie and Red, at this somewhat cold comment.

Cait Sith lowers his head and his ears go down, “I really don’t want anything to happen to little Marlene. I swear.”

“Then tell us what you know.” Vincent replies.

“All I know is.” He takes a seat, “They left Shinra Headquarters about an hour ago. They’re taking a helicopter, so they should be there around 0200.”

“It’s 2200 now.” Cloud says and stands, “We should get some sleep.”

“Wait, we’re not leaving before we already agreed on, right?” Barret shoots his eyes over to Cloud, somewhat worried about the sudden change in plans. Cloud thinks for a moment, but before he can muster a response, Vincent answers for him.

“Leave when you originally were going to. Shinra can get hit with any threats that may be protecting the temple, making it easier to slip in after them. If they get the Black Materia, then we’ll know where it is.” With that, the cloaked man stood and walked over to one of the tents, seemingly getting ready to sleep. Red and Barret followed him. Yuffie also stood, stretched and disappeared into a different tent. She never said goodnight to anyone…

***

Tifa stares at the fabric of the tent and listens to the soft breathing of Yuffie and Aerith behind her. She curls herself a bit tighter, trying to get comfortable, but sleep wasn’t coming easily. Was it anxiety about tomorrow? Was she… getting spoiled? She shook her head at the second thought, thinking how silly it was. Maybe she should go for a walk and try to clear her head. She could hear the ocean waves hitting the shore nearby. A moonlit walk on the beach sounded wonderful.

She slowly gets up and climbs over Aerith’s legs to open the tent. Aerith was a really deep sleeper, which made it easy to escape, but also difficult to wake her up when she’d try to sneak a few extra minutes of sleep in the mornings where they needed to get moving. As she approaches the shore, she stops, seeing the familiar silhouette of Cloud, who is staring out at the dark sea, still as a statue. She tilts her head a bit, surprised that he doesn’t have his pauldron on, nor does he have his sword with him. The closer she gets, her worry grows. He also doesn’t have his boots on and he seems to be breathing somewhat heavy.

As she’s approaching him, she hears the sound of a helicopter growing closer. She sees the flashing lights go by as the noise gets louder. That must be Shinra… Cloud doesn’t seem to notice. He doesn’t move.

“Cloud?” She inquires softly, keeping a slight distance. She thinks she can hear him whispering something, but she isn’t totally sure.

_“Is he sleep walking?”_ She thinks to herself. Taking a breath, she gets a bit closer and reaches out to lightly touch his arm. This jolts him out of whatever trance he was in.

“Tifa?!” He turns to her, eyes wide and fear etched on his face, still trying to catch his breath.

“Cloud…? Are you okay?” She grips his arm a bit more. He closes his eyes, enjoying the warmth. The breeze from the sea is chilly – almost downright cold – and he was starting to realize it.

“I’m fine.” He opens his eyes, “It’s nothing.”

Tifa smiles and lowers her head.

“Tifa…” He turns to her slowly until he’s completely facing her, “I mean it. It’s nothing. Don’t worry.” She looks up at him and he offers what may be a slight smile, but the doubt is gnawing at her.

Dread.

***

The next morning comes quickly. It is still dark at 0500. Aerith is up and ready before any of them. Cloud thinks this is probably special for her since she’s the last of the Ancients and is going to see what seems to be a sacred place. Cait Sith was with Aerith as Cloud left the tent with Barret. He looked around for a moment, “Where’s Tifa?”

Aerith looked over at him and frowned, “I thought she was with you?” Barret and Cloud looked at each other and Cloud could feel his adrenaline rising.

“She wasn’t in the tent with you when you woke up?” He asks, quickly approaching her, eyes wild with worry.

Aerith stood her ground and looked at him sternly, “No, Cloud. She wasn’t.” Cloud stops, realizing that he was angry at somebody who didn’t deserve it. He suddenly feels rage bubbling within him towards Aerith and quickly suppresses it, unsure of what is causing it. He softens his stance towards her.

“Sorry!” Cloud snaps his head up and sees Tifa running towards them, with what appears to be a bag.

Cloud sighs in relief. Barret looks at her, somewhat disappointed, “Now where did you go off to by yourself without telling any of us?”

“Sorry, I…” Tifa looks down at the bag, “I wanted to make sure we had plenty of Phoenix Downs.”

Barret and Cloud look at each other and come to a silent agreement that she probably was right to do that, since they hadn’t really checked their inventory in a while.

Tifa smiles at them, “So! Are we ready to go?” Cloud can tell she’s hiding her feelings – her real feelings – about this trip.

“Tifa…” Cloud walks towards her, “If you want to stay here, it’s—”

“No!” She sternly cuts him off, “I want to go with you guys.” She looks somewhat angry and then softly says, “Why would you not want me to come…?”

Cloud narrows his eyes a bit and frowns, “I didn’t say I didn’t want you to come… I just wanted to make sure you were okay to.”

Tifa shakes her head, “Sorry. Yes. I want to go.” She forces a weak smile. Cloud softens his face, now worrying that he upset her. Cid grunts and stretches as he exits the tent that he made it in at some point the night before.

He lights a cigarette, “Alright! We ready to roll?”

***

The sun was rising on the horizon, light flickering in the soft waves hitting the Tiny Bronco as they passed. Three hours after departing, they saw hints of land in the distance. The group was huddled close under blankets, to shield themselves from the cutting cold wind. Cid seemed to be chain smoking but was well dressed for the occasion. Cloud thinks he caught him sneaking a few swigs out of a flask but wasn’t too sure. How the hell could somebody drink as the sun was rising?

Barret sat in the middle of Cloud and Aerith, while Tifa had taken residence on Cloud’s right side. Barret seemed to be quite the heater, but the mako flowing through Cloud’s bloodstream made him an even better option. Aerith seemed mostly content as she snuggled next to Barret. Barret took on the role of a fatherly figure well for the group and seemed to swell with pride when he was treated as such, whether he’d want to admit it or not. Cait Sith seemed to be perfectly content, appearing to be asleep near Cid.

Tifa shivers a bit and holds her knees as close as she can to her chest. Cloud looks over at her, “You cold?” He asks quietly.

“It’s okay, we’re almost there.” She says, teeth chattering.

Cloud thinks for a moment. He knows what would work… if she shifted onto him, but even the thought of that made his ears grow hot. Barret must have picked up on this and chuckled, “Have her move between us.” He suggests. Cloud nods and looks at Tifa.

As she stands to move over, Cloud shifts and accidentally hits her foot, causing her to lose her balance. He quickly catches her, fearful that she would fall in the water, making her predicament worse. She lands in his lap, hands on his chest. Their faces turn red as they quickly turn from each other.

Barret laughs as the scene, “You gotta be warmer now.” Tifa’s face grows a deeper shade of red. Cloud is trying to think of anything other than the fact that Tifa is in his lap but he’s failing. The good news is, she stops shivering.

Cid turns and looks at the scene, “Cloud looks like he’s a lot warmer too.” He begins cackling as he looks back towards the approaching land mass.

She slowly slides off and places herself between Cloud and Barret, “Sorry…” She mumbles.

Cloud swallows and looks at her, “I-It’s okay.” Aerith giggles as Barret discretely hands her 15 Gil.

Tifa looks over at Aerith, “What’s so funny?”

“Hmmm?” Aerith sings mischievously, “Oh, nothing. Just glad that you’re not cold anymore!”

“Alright, about five more minutes and we’ll hit land.” Cid turns quickly to look at Cloud, “Make sure you brace yourselves this time. Don’t think you wanna fall in this cold as shit sea.”

“I don’t know what kinda shits you’re taking, but I ain’t ever heard of a cold shit.” Barret cracks a smile and begins to laugh as Cid, Tifa and Aerith do. Cloud can’t help but smile at the silly joke

As they approach the shore, all four of them grab on to anything they can, preparing for impact. Luckily, as they hit the shoreline, nobody falls off. Aerith jumps off first, eyes wide and runs towards the temple quickly.

“Wait! Aerith!” Tifa yells and goes after her.

Cloud looks at Cid quickly, “Go and get the others. We’ll see you when you get back…”

Cid nods, “Alright, don’t get killed while I’m gone. Be back in about six hours.” As he goes to turn the engine back on, he spots Cait Sith and picks him up, “Oh, don’t forget your pet!” Cid launches Cait towards Barret. Cait is screaming as he slams into Barret’s chest and slides down. Barret grabs him with his hand and puts him down. Cid takes off back towards the Gongaga shore, cackling loud enough to be heard over the sputtering engine.

Aerith is on the ground as if she is praying. Her hands arms are stretched out in front of her and her head is down. She begins shaking her head, “…I don’t understand…”

“Aerith?” Cloud gets a bit closer to her, “What’s wrong?”

Aerith stays quiet for a moment, and her face tenses, “…Okay…”

Tifa and Cloud look at each other and then to Cait Sith and Barret. Cloud thinks for a moment and remembers when she said she was talking to flowers, but he didn’t see any flowers here. Him and Tifa realized they couldn’t hear the howling and screaming like they did at the end of the Midgar Expressway. Was this different?

“I can hear the cries of the planet… very clearly here.” She says solemnly, “The howling… is much more urgent this time…”

Tifa steps closer to her, “Why can’t we hear them this time?”

Aerith shakes her head, “I think… since the Whispers are no longer here…”

Aerith suddenly stands and runs towards the entrance of the temple. Tifa and Cloud gasp and take off after her, followed by Barret and Cait Sith. As Cloud approaches, a cloaked figure comes from the right, groaning before falling over.

“One of these things?” Barret looks suspiciously towards the fallen figure.

“B...l…a…c…k…. M…a…t…e…r…i…a…”

“The hell did it say?” Barret looks to Cloud.

Cloud thinks for a moment, “I think it said Black Materia?” He begins to inspect the figure for a number, but the cloak is fully covering both arms. He goes down to grab the figure and try to move it and is immediately slammed with pain. His hands fly up to grab his head and he begins wincing.

_Cold… Ice… Green… The Reunion. Go to the Reunion. Get the Black Materia. Quickly._

“Cloud?!” Tifa yells and grabs his arm. Cloud inhales sharply and walks away. The cloaked figure continues to groan incoherently on the ground.

“We should follow after Aerith… Shinra is already inside, I’m sure.” Cloud says somewhat urgently. Tifa worries her bottom lip as she watches him quickly walk towards the entrance of the temple. Barret looks at her, somewhat concerned, but doesn’t speak. Tifa takes one last glance at the struggling figure before they follow Cloud.

When Cloud enters, Aerith is sitting next to what appears to be a seriously injured Tseng. Aerith’s eyes are closed as she takes Tseng’s hand and holds it. Cloud stops at the entrance when he sees her, which allows the others to catch up.

Tifa gasps at the sight. Blood has darkened the navy suit that the Turk wore, turning it almost black. Tseng looks at Aerith and squeezes her hand a bit, “A-Aerith…”

“What happened, Tseng?” She asks, her voice full of hurt.

“…S-Sephiroth… he’s… down there….” Tseng coughs, wincing at the pain.

Aerith looks away from him quickly, “Maybe you shouldn’t have interfered with what I was doing.”

“I figured… you’d say something like that…” Tseng lets out a quiet chuckle, “You know… Shinra… Wants to find—”

Aerith sighs heavily, “The Promised Land… isn’t what you think it is… You will not find it here.” She stands and walks away. Barret frowns as he sees tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Is she… crying?” Cloud quietly asks Tifa. Tifa simply nods.

“A-Aerith… the Keystone… here…” Tseng, not able to lift his arm, slides his hand along the stone floor of the temple, showing her the glowing green object, “Put it… put it in the control console.” Aerith keeps her head down, trying to hide her tears from him. As soon as she takes the Keystone, he slowly closes his eyes.

“Aerith, are you okay?” Tifa asks as she walks over to her.

“Yeah… Tseng is…” She wipes a few tears away, “He’s a fighter… he’ll make it out. I… hate seeing him like this. I’ve known him since I was a child and…” She shakes her head, “We should go…”

She walks over to the console and places the Keystone into the empty slot. As she does, the rest of the orbs light up. The team moves to surround her as an elevator appears beneath them and begins lowering them to the surface below. The smell of damp stone and moss fills the air as they descend. It was clear that, save for Tseng and a few others, nobody had been down here for a very long time.

“Hey, Cait…” Aerith starts and Cait Sith looks up at her, “Will Shinra come and help Tseng?”

Cait Sith looks away and huffs, “Of course! He’s considered an important asset to the organization.” Aerith smiles slightly, feeling somewhat relieved, but also silly. Why wouldn’t they send help?

“Man, how far does this thing go?” Barret looks up and sees that they’ve gone down a good 30 feet and the light from the entrance of the temple was starting to get further and further away.

“Ask the elevator.” Cloud says flatly.

“Man, I tell you what…” Barret shakes his head, “You something else, you know that? Always got some smart-ass shit to say.”

“Well I don’t—”

“That’s enough, you two.” Tifa says somewhat sternly and is clearly nervous. Both men feel guilty for the unnecessary banter. Cloud looks over at Tifa with the hint of a pout on his face, but she’s staring ahead at Aerith with a determined look on her face.

“We need to be careful down here.” Aerith says somewhat softly, “If Sephiroth is really here…”

_“He is.”_ Cloud’s eyes widened at the unknown inner voice. He quickly shuts his eyes and lightly shakes his head to try and dismiss it. Aerith catches this, but quickly turns her attention to Tifa, who has a look of worry and anger on her face.

Before she can say anything, the elevator suddenly stops, causing all of them to brace themselves. Stone doors slide open, revealing a massive room, full of stone pathways and openings. As the party steps out of the elevator, they’re stricken by the beauty of the place. Anxiety begins to set in as they realize they’re going to have to navigate these pathways.

“Aerith…” Cloud starts, “Do you know where we have to go?”

Aerith thinks for a moment and looks around. As she’s scanning the area, she spots a bearded gnome like creature wearing a pointy hat and blue shirt. The thing couldn’t be more than two feet tall, “I think he’ll know.” She begins to move, catching the rest off guard.

As Barret is walking, he slows down, a look of confusion on his face, “Hey, wait up. Gotta ask ya something.” The group stops and turns to him, “That thing outside said Black Materia. What the hell is Black Materia?”

_“Get the Black Materia.”_ Cloud grits his teeth briefly, “It’s what Sephiroth is after.”

Aerith looks over at him, a look of surprise on her face, that then softens to worry, “The Black Materia is in the Temple… That is why Sephiroth is here… I don’t know much more than that…”

Tifa frowns, “What does the Black Materia do?”

“I’m hoping if we can go further, we can find out.” Aerith simply says and smiles at her. She turns back towards where the gnomish creature is standing, “We need to talk to him.”

The team agrees and begins to walk forward, which alerts the gnome creature to jump in surprise and take off.

“Seriously?” Cloud sighs.

“It’s fine, let’s just go! We can split up.” Aerith suggests. Cloud tries to protest, but Aerith cuts him off, “It’ll be faster.”

Tifa steps forward, “I don’t know, Aerith… I think that may not…We really don’t know this place, and if Sephiroth is down here, that could be dangerous.” Cloud grunts and nods in agreement.

Aerith sighs and smiles at her friend, “I guess you’re right.”

“Uh, hey.” Barret was looking at his PHS, “No service down here.”

“Makes sense, we’re pretty far underground.” Cloud states as he pulls out his own to verify Barret’s statement.

Tifa crosses her arms, “How are we going to know when the rest are here?”

“I hope it doesn’t take us six hours to get through here…” Cait Sith says and sighs.

***

“…So then she’s like telling me how the bowl was pink, so it clearly was a sign.” Yuffie cackles as she takes another bite of whatever quick breakfast food they could find in Gongaga.

“Thrilling.” Red says flatly.

“It was!” Yuffie protests.

“I think you should focus on eating instead of talking about the colors of bowls and other various dinnerware.” Vincent stands up and walks towards the shoreline, internally begging Cid to speed up. He doesn’t think he can take another moment of this. He hears Red stand behind him and begin walking away from Yuffie.

“HEY!” Yuffie quickly stands, “Where are you going!?”

“To jump in the sea. It’ll be less painful.” Red continues to walk away from her.

Vincent spots a small object in the distance and feels relief wash over him, “Looks like Cid is back.”

“Yuffie, do you have everything you need?” Red turns to her this time.

Yuffie sighs, “Yeah, yeah. I got all the Materia.” Vincent shoots her a threatening look, “What?! I didn’t take _your_ Materia!”

About ten minutes later, the engine of the Tiny Bronco is getting louder and Cid’s figure is easy to make out. The three begin to walk towards the shore to greet him. Once he’s on the shore, the three board the small vessel.

“Make sure you use those blankets. Wind isn’t real nice today.” Cid lights a cigarette and looks at Vincent, “You get me more?”

Vincent sighs and pulls two packs of Midgar Red cigarette packs, “The more appropriate name for these would be something with Marlboro in it. They stink.”

Cid huffs, “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Shera always is bitchin’ too. I’d be dead without these babies.”

“You’ll be dead with them too.” Red lays behind him, preparing to leave.

“Whatever. Don’t fall off.” Cid turns the engine back on, makes sure the team is settled and begins the last transport to the Temple of the Ancients.

***

Aerith is trying to catch her breath as she approaches the room that the gnome disappeared in to. She hears the rest of the team catching up behind her, seemingly in better shape, save Barret, who was huffing just as much as she was. Inside, the gnome nervously looks at her and grunts something.

“I see… I don’t understand…” Aerith says sadly and looks down. The gnome grunts a few more things and she nods her head, “Okay… I think I understood that…”

“What… is it?” Tifa tilts her head.

“An Ancient.” Aerith says somewhat cheerfully, “More specifically, spirits of the Cetra that stayed behind to protect the temple.”

“Wow.” Barret whispers somewhat loudly.

“He says we can rest here and buy supplies.” Aerith says as she looks at the inventory, “Oh! And he also said he can help us get into contact with our friends.”

“He really said all that?” Cloud raises and eyebrow at her. Aerith nods.

“Should we rest?” Tifa looks at the others.

Cloud looks at Aerith and then Tifa, “Do we need to?”

“I’m okay.” Tifa starts, “But I want to make sure we all are prepared for… whatever is next.”

Aerith thinks for a moment as she hands the Cetra spirit Gil for a pack of Remedies, “I think we’re okay to keep moving if you are.”

The team leaves the room and heads down another pathway towards a dark doorway. As they approach, they hear rumbling and begin to feel the ground shake a bit. Barret stops and looks around but continues to move since nobody else was going to stop for him. When they enter the room, very large hollow stone cylinders are rolling down the path.

“The hell is that?!” Barret yells.

“The temple is full of traps to protect it from intruders… If we make it past the point, we can hit a switch and they’ll stop.” Aerith says as she begins walking ahead.

“We need to time these just right or else…” Tifa swallows hard.

“Oh, we’ll be fine! Cloud will tell us when to go!” Aerith gives Cloud a look.

“Me?” Cloud looks at her, somewhat confused, “Why me? Can’t you hear them talking to you?”

“You were in SOLDIER, weren’t you? I’m sure you have the judgement to do this.” She begins walking ahead again. Tifa gives Cloud a nervous look but nods at him. When they reach the path with the cylinders, Cloud watches the patterns.

“They move slow… So, we should be okay as long as we stick together. There’s enough room in each opening for all of us to fit.” Cloud turns to them, “Don’t move before I tell you and don’t fall behind.”

Barret’s mouth was open, and his head was following each cylinder as it fell off into a black void, “Uh… I… Why don’t you guys go? I’ll keep watch here.” He chuckles nervously.

Cloud crosses his arms, “Chicken?”

“No, man! What if you tell us wrong?!”

“I won’t. Just pay attention and you’ll be fine.” Cloud approaches the pathway, “In 3, 2, 1, GO!” They all duck and line up, feeling the stone roll over them. It was almost a deafening sound. They run ahead and Cloud watches as the next one approaches. He counts again and then go. Halfway through the pathway, Aerith diverts to the left towards what appears to be an alter of some sort.

A pillar light was coming up from the pool of water there, which glowed a light green hue. Aerith approaches it and gets down on her knees. Barret lets out a loud sigh of relief once they’re off of the main path, but quickly gets nervous again, realizing they’re only halfway there, “Oh man! How much more of this?!”

Tifa turns and shushes him sternly. Cait Sith stays behind with him, feeling like he’s an intruder to whatever Aerith is doing at this moment.

“Is she praying?” Cloud whispers to Tifa.

“I think so.”

They see Aerith shake her head. The next thing they know, everything is green and distorted. Cloud and Tifa gasp and look around, ready to fight. Nothing.

“What the hell!?” Barret yells. Cait whimpers a bit and begins shaking.

***

Aerith continues to peer into the pool, seeing flashes of events from disease and famine, from war and genocide, and from death and destruction.

“A terrible world… Don’t you think?”

Aerith gasps and looks up to see Sephiroth slowly descending before her. She quickly stands and clenches her fists, “You...”

Sephiroth smirks, “It will show you what you desire most… If you want it to.” Aerith continues to stare him down. He continues to smile as he looks down at the pool and lifts his hand, “Is it… the young man you met recently?” Her memories, though short, begin to appear of Cloud, “No… not that… Perhaps the woman you’ve met?” Tifa appears in various ways. Aerith feels her emotions swelling as she sees the scenes play before her. Her heart starts pounding – she knows what is next.

“No…” She says as her eyes widen.

Sephiroth lets out a small laugh, “Not her either… No, what you desire…” Visions of Zack appear. The first time they met at the church… the flower cart…. Her tiny wishes… their last phone call…

_“An angel…?”_

_“Just give it a little more time. A lot of people will come. You’ll see!”_

_“They’re tiny, but you have lots. Right?”_

_“Okay, I’ll come visit.”_

_“I’ll see you. I promise.”_

“I’ll be here…” Aerith says weakly, holding back tears. Another vision appears of Zack appearing to be somewhere within the Temple of the Ancients. Her eyes widen. Sephiroth places his hand on her shoulder.

“I told you… you meddled in things beyond your understanding…” He says smoothly, “Effecting events. Space and time. Life and death…”

“What do you want?” She gets her wits about her.

“Do you want to see him?”

Aerith looks at him and doesn’t respond.

“I just need one simple thing…” He smirks at her again. She continues to stare at him, “Get me the Black Materia.”

“Never!” She says through gritted teeth. Sephiroth looks down, still smiling, “Very well, then…” He ascends through the pillar of light. Aerith watches him until he disappears.

“Aerith!” She hears Cloud and Tifa yell and begin running up behind her.

“What happened?” Tifa asks, “We… You disappeared!”

Aerith smiles at her warmly, “I think it must have been something in the temple! Must have set off a trap.” Cloud looks at her sternly, but says nothing, “We should get going past the rest of those boulder things, huh?” Aerith walked by them towards Barret and Cait Sith, who were still looking around to figure out what the hell just happened.

They make it past, with only a portion of Cait Sith’s tail getting crushed. Out of breath, but relieved, Barret starts to walk towards the next area and hears loud ticking sounds. The rest of them approach as well and begin to look at each other.

“A clock?” Cait Sith asks and moves ahead more. As they approach the room, they see a very large clock with moving hands, ticking away. An Ancient spirit sits near the entrance and nods at them while grunting, “…nyum …nyum.”

“He says we can talk to him if we need to move the clock hands. It’s the pathways to get to the other rooms… There are eight in all.” Aerith explains.

“Eight?!” Barret yells, startling the Ancient a bit, “Oh, uh… Sorry.” He clears his throat.

“The goal is to get to 6 and 12… That’s where we need to go.”

“…nyum …nyum…”

Tifa looks at Aerith for clarification, “He says we should look in the other rooms…”

They decide to do just that, watching as the creepy Time Guardian moves its mouth in the clock’s center every time the Ancient spirit directs it to move. In one room they find a Ribbon, that Aerith encourages Tifa to take. In another, they find a very powerful staff for Aerith to use. Most of them were dead ends with a few encounters, but nothing they couldn’t handle. It almost seemed too easy.

As they leave to head back over to the Ancient, they notice he’s no longer there. The Time Guardian is also not moving, as if everything is frozen around them. Cloud puts a hand up to stop the others from walking. Suddenly, the clock hands begin to move quickly. They try to avoid them but are hit. Barret and Cait Sith fly off first. Tifa and Cloud jump out of the way and pull Aerith to safety, but it’s short lived. Cloud and Tifa feel their feet get hit hard and begin to fall.

Aerith gasps and looks down. As she stumbles a bit and is about to fall… something helps her up. The cloaked figures from Midgar – the Whispers – are surrounding her.

“What?” Aerith looks around, “I don’t understand… I thought…”

“Aerith.”

Her eyes widen. She slowly turns towards the voice.

“Zack…” She no longer cares why the Whispers surround her, at least not at this moment.

***

Cloud groans as he pushes himself off of the stone floor, somehow uninjured. He quickly shakes his head to refocus his vision and sees Tifa also getting up. Cait Sith is looking around, confused as Barret makes noises of struggle trying to stand.

“What… happened?” Tifa asks as she also looks around the strange room. Cloud shakes his head and looks down.

“Damn clock broke and tried to kill us. That’s what happened.” Barret huffs and looks up towards the clock room. His eyes go wide and his jaw drops. The other three follow where he’s looking.

“Whispers?!” Tifa gasps.

“I thought…” Cloud starts.

None of them know what to do. Why are the Whispers back?

“Damn… we shoulda brought Red.” Barret sits down and shakes his head, “He’d know… And I bet they kept Aerith up there for some reason…”

Tifa sighs and looks up again, “I hope she’s okay…”

Cloud looks around and notices two Ancient Dragons coming towards them, “Looks like we’ve got company…” The team prepares to fight.

***

Aerith stares at disbelief, “Is it really you?” She breathes out.

Zack chuckles and smiles at her, “It is… I told you’d I’d come and visit, right?”

She lets out a sob and runs towards him, crashing into him.

“I’m sorry, Aerith.” He says quietly to her, “I’m sorry it took me so long to come back… a lot has happened.”

“No, no… It’s alright… I just…” Aerith steps back and wipes her face, “I just didn’t expect to see you again…”

“I know… There were moments where I thought it was over but… Here I am.” Zack clears his throat, “Listen, I really want to spend time with you. I know you have things to do here…”

Aerith straightened up, “Yes, we… we need to make sure Sephiroth doesn’t get the Black Materia.”

Zack’s lips twitch a bit and he nods confidently, “Sounds like a plan!” The clock hands were pointing to room VI. Zack begins walking towards it and points, “Here?”

Aerith nods, “Yeah, there.” She feels giddy and uncertain. There’s too many emotions and fears going through her head and her heart. What? Why? How? There would be time for all of that later. For now, she followed the man she hadn’t seen in almost five years into the next room, ready to face anything.

But she also knew she wasn’t thinking straight.

***

Cloud places his sword on his back and looks down at the two Ancient Dragons before the dissipate into the Lifestream. They look down the dark hall, wondering where it will lead them. He looks at the other three to make sure they’re okay.

Barret is breathing somewhat heavy still, “Those things were a pain in my ass!”

“Well, they’re dead now.” Cloud says flatly as he begins walking towards the dark hall. Tifa and Cait Sith follow Cloud. Barret rolls his eyes and sighs before also following.

***

“Got ya!” Zack says triumphantly and he picks the Ancient spirit up. The spirit begins to squeak and “nyum, nyum” a little louder than normal.

Aerith puts her hands on her hips, “Hey, put him down!” Zack slowly places the Ancient back down. The spirit mumbles something and holds a small hand out, containing a key. Aerith gently takes it from the spirit and looks at it, “This should get us in the door over there.”

“You think the Black Materia is in there?”

Aerith thinks for a moment, “I bet it is! Why else would they lock the room?”

Zack chuckles, “Hey, why don’t I go and secure the exit… We don’t know what’s going to happen in there… So, we should have a good escape!” Aerith looks at him sadly and he tilts his head, “What, didn’t you bring friends?”

She looks at him for a moment and nods her head slowly, thinking maybe she should ask him how he knew that.

“Well, you wait here for them. I’ll go check the other room, okay?” He says to her confidently, “I’ll be back!” With that, he runs off back out towards the clock room. Aerith stares at the entrance a bit longer and sighs before sitting in front of the door.

She rolls the key around in her hand and thinks for a moment. If this is where the Black Materia is, it probably is being guarded by something. Maybe if the temple senses she’s an Ancient herself, it won’t hurt her? If the spirits know that she’s trying to help and prevent Sephiroth from getting the Black Materia, then they may let her do this. She stands and turns towards the door. Taking a deep breath, she inserts the key and hears the click of the door unlocking. Slowly, she opens it, to be presented with a long room with a vibrant mural on the wall. She stares at it for a moment and can’t help but think of the mural she drew while living in the Shinra building as a child.

Slowly, she walks in the room and looks at the mural more. People, animals, places, the sky, the sun… and a large ominous meteor object looming over it all. She averts her eyes and looks towards the other end of the room, seeing an alter with a black orb floating above it. As she begins to move in more, she hears a group of footsteps getting closer, so she turns. Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Cait Sith run in.

“Aerith!” Tifa yells and runs up to her friend, “You’re okay?”

Aerith nods and smiles, “I am. I’m glad to see you guys are okay too!”

“We saw the Whispers… What are they doing here?” Tifa asks.

Aerith looks at her a bit wide eyed, “I’m… not really sure…”

“I thought we beat ‘em.” Barret adds.

“It could be…” Aerith shakes her head, “No… Nevermind…”

Tifa looks over at Cloud, who seems to be somewhat transfixed on the alter at the end.

“What is this place?” he asks flatly. _“The place where all of your worst nightmares begin.”_ Cloud gasps and his eyes widen. _“Get the Black Materia, Cloud.”_

“Cloud?” Tifa begins to slowly approach him as he is shaking his head.

He looks up at her and softens a bit, but says somewhat harshly, “I’m fine… Let’s just get the Black Materia and get out of here…” He walks past her and gives Aerith a cold stare as he does. The room suddenly changes, and they see Tseng at the alter with Elena, who seemingly must have left her Wutai getaway early.

“What the…?” Barret starts and walks closer to the others. They see Sephiroth approaching from behind them and prepare to fight, but he walks right through them.

“What?!” Tifa gasps and backs up, eyes wide.

“A vision…” Aerith says softly, “Of the past. He’s going to make us watch this…”

Elena yells and Tseng turns. Sephiroth forces his blade through Tseng’s abdomen and quickly pulls it out again. Blood pours to the ground as he groans and falls. Elena falls to his side. Sephiroth looks at the Black Materia for a moment and turns to leave. As he disappears, a large Red Dragon appears before them.

“Shit.” Cloud hisses as he quickly prepares for combat along with the rest of them.

***

They quickly deal with the dragon, who leaves behind a Summon Materia, Bahamut ZERO. Cloud stares at the red orb as he rolls it in his hand and then puts it away.

“Why didn’t he take it?” Tifa asks nervously.

Cloud turns to look at her and sees Sephiroth standing right behind her, blade drawn, “TIFA!” He yells and grabs her, pulling her close to him and positioning her away from where Sephiroth was standing. He has a grip on her. She’s in shock of what is happening right now and is afraid to move. Aerith’s face begins to show concern.

“What the hell, man? You seeing shit?” Barret asks him. Cloud slowly releases his grip on Tifa and realizes that the Sephiroth he saw was an illusion.

_“He’s messing with you… You’ve gotta stay strong, buddy.”_

In an effort to try and divert Cloud’s focus, Aerith begins to look at the mural and point out various things on it, from the different types of people and cultures displayed to the villages represented, and of course, she turns her eyes up to the meteor looming in the sky over it all.

Cloud slowly walks closer to the mural and his shoulders begin to shake a bit. Aerith stops talking and slowly looks over at him. He begins to laugh. This shocks all of them, but especially Barret, who has never heard the guy laugh. He’s laughing hysterically. Tifa blinks her eyes a few times, trying to clear her vision, as he looks almost blurred. An illusion?

“C-Cloud…?” Tifa asks and slowly approaches him. Aerith gently takes her hand and shakes her head, indicating that she shouldn’t approach him. This laughing and strange behavior continues for about thirty more seconds before it abruptly stops.

Cloud turns to them, “What’s wrong?” He says calmly and frowns a bit.

Tifa begins to say something, but Aerith interrupts, “Nothing! Everything is good, right guys?” Barret, Tifa, and Cait Sith reluctantly agree with her, “Well then! Shall we continue?”

Aerith knows she can’t mention Zack in front of Cloud and is growing increasingly nervous that the two men are going to run into each other. She’s not really sure why, but her gut is screaming for her not to let that happen. Especially not right now. Cloud is already approaching the alter where the Black Materia is floating. He reaches up to grab it and the temple shakes. He quickly pulls his hand back.

Aerith runs up to him and looks around the alter for a clue. She then hears whispers… “I see…”

Cloud looks over at her, “What?”

“The temple itself is the Black Materia.” She states quietly.

“What?” Cloud gives her a look of confusion and doubt, “What do you mean the temple is?”

“The Black Materia… summons the Meteor you see in that drawing and is almost a reenactment of the calamity that fell from the sky thousands of years ago…” Aerith starts, “If the wrong person were to get this, then it could mean total destruction of the planet. The planet would die… Completely… along with everyone and everything on it…”

“So how do we stop Sephiroth from getting it?” Cloud asks quietly, staring at the black orb in front of him.

Aerith lowers her head, “Every time you touch it, the Temple gets smaller and smaller. If you take it, then the temple will get small all at once… crushing everyone inside with it. Sephiroth was most likely planning on having one of the remnants do this for him…”

Tifa walks closer to Aerith, “Remnant?”

“All of those cloaked figures are called Remnants, they…” Aerith is cut off as Whispers enter the room she sighs sadly, “We have to… the only way to get this is to…”

Cait Sith walks up to the rest of the group, “I can do it.”

“What?” Cloud turns his attention from the Black Materia, “You’ll die.”

“Well, I’m in a stuffed body! I’m the perfect one that can do it… I can be… replaced.” Cait Sith beams up at Cloud, “And I think I owe you one after everything I’ve put you through…” Cait lowers his head and his ears.

Tifa frowns, “But…”

“How about I get you guys out of here and I’ll come back. Deal?” He offers cheerfully. The group looks at each other and slowly nods in agreement.

“Thank you, Cait Sith.” Aerith says warmly, “I’ll never forget this… And you’ll be a hero.”

Cait Sith puts a paw to his eye, “Stop, you’re making me cry!”

They all exit the room and head back to the clock room. The hands are stagnant, pointing towards the XII room. Aerith runs ahead of them a bit. Realizing they don’t have a choice on where they can go, they walk through to the next room. There is a single door on the other side. The atmosphere is heavy and thick. The closer they get to the door, the warmer it gets.

“Is the wall… moving?” Tifa asks nervously. A head suddenly pops out along with two arms. They all jump back.

“Is the _wall_ attacking us?!” Barret yells.

“Hey, we had to fight an entire house in Wall Market when we were trying to save Tifa!” Aerith says as she prepares herself for the encounter. Cloud groans and rolls his eyes at the memory.

“Ready?” Cloud asks them all.

***

Cid approaches the shoreline for the Temple of the Ancients, three hours after picking up the rest of the crew. They all get off and stretch while Yuffie still complains about how cold it was on the way there.

“We should get moving.” Vincent begins, “Seeing Shinra leave already could be a bad sign.”

“Still can’t get through…” Cid says and sighs heavily, “Damn shitheads better not have gotten themselves killed.”

Yuffie gasps, “Of course they didn’t!”

“Then let us get moving in case they need our help.” Red begins to follow Vincent and Cid towards the entrance of the temple.

“Hey! Wait!” Yuffie yells and runs to catch up.

Red stops as they get closer, “Something has happened here…”

“Oh no! What!?” Yuffie looks pleadingly at the others.

“No, they are alive… but a presence is here that shouldn’t be.” Red stares at the entrance and the hair on his back stands on edge, “We need to be careful.”

Vincent nods and silently moves ahead. Cid and Yuffie look at each other, seemingly sharing the same fears.

***

“What… a terrible… wall…” Barret says as he lowers his gun arm.

Cait Sith is still on his now summonable Mog, “Well… I guess I’m off…” Tifa and Aerith frown towards him. He looks at them and smiles and perks up a bit, “Hey! I know! I’ll read a fortune!”

They all look at each other, “About what?” Tifa asks.

“Whatever you want.” He looks at them all.

Tifa looks at Aerith, “You should do it. What do you want to know?”

“I can tell if you and Cloud are compatible?” Cait Sith asks and Cloud gives Cait Sith a dirty look.

Aerith laughs, “Yeah, right… I can tell you that without a fortune!” Tifa also giggles a bit and looks over at Cloud, who is blushing and brooding. Barret can’t help but chuckle himself. Aerith thinks for a moment, “What will tomorrow bring?”

Cait Sith nods and begins his fortune ritual dance. A small paper prints out of the Mog’s mouth and Cait Sith grabs it with a paw, “Lets see here… Oh man…”

“What is it?!” Aerith asks excitedly.

“Though the end may seem nigh, the crossroads will answer all you need to know.”

Aerith sighs sadly, “I thought it was going to be something romantic.” She shakes her head and smiles sadly at Cait Sith, “Are you sure about this?”

“The fortune?” Cait looks at her.

“No, silly…”

“Ah… Yes. Like I said! I’m a stuffed toy, so I’m the best one to do it!”

Tifa looks at him with sad eyes, “Thank you…”

The two men in the room nod their heads in approval.

“You guys should get as far away as you can… It’ll probably be quick.” Cait Sith says.

The four of them nod and open the door, leaving Cait Sith in there to head back to the Black Materia.

As the team exits, they see Vincent, Cid, and Red, following by a red faced Yuffie.

Red sighs in relief, “You’re all okay.”

Cloud nods quickly, “We need to get as far away from the temple as we can, now!”

“What?” Cid asks.

“No time to explain right now. We gotta move.” Cloud replies as they all begin to run away from the temple.

“Where’s Cait Sith?” Red asks along side Cloud as they’re running.

“He… stayed behind to get the Black Materia.” Cloud says without looking down at Red. Red stays silent.

***

Cait Sith makes his way back to the room containing the Black Materia. When he enters, he pauses for a moment to look at the other end of the hall.

“Okay, I can do this! This… this will make up for everything… I’ve done. I know Cloud and the others will be able to continue on without me…” He chuckles, “I mean, they’ll have another version… but…”

He trips and a small cry and grunt comes out. Shaking it off, his Mog slowly stands back up again. He readjusts himself, “But I am me and there’s only one me!”

As he approaches the floating black orb, he looks down at his Mog and nods, “Even though I’m only a stuffed toy… and so are you… We can be heroes too!” He slowly reaches up and grasps the Black Materia, “Cloud… I know you can’t hear me… but I have a lot of faith in you. All of you. I’ve enjoyed my short time with you… Thank you…”

He shuts his eyes and the temple starts to violently shake. He feels the walls and ceiling getting closer to him and…

***

Aerith holds a clenched fist to her chest and watches as the Temple of the Ancients implodes. Tifa is standing next to her and gently puts a hand on her shoulder. The sound is deafening as the large structure turns into… nothing.

Yuffie gasps, “Wait… where’d it go?!”

“It became the Black Materia.” Aerith simply says.

Tifa looks over to her, “Are you okay?”

Aerith lets out a quiet laugh, “Yeah, just… I guess they’re all able to rest now. The spirits guarding the temple can now rest.”

The dust is settling a bit as Cid clears his throat, “So… I guess Cait, uh…”

“Yeah.” Cloud says flatly. Everyone looks down and stays silent for a moment.

Aerith begins walking forward to the crater left from the temple. Tifa turns and looks at Cloud and he nods in understanding. They begin following her and watch as she stops at the edge, peering down. She turns to them all with a smile, “Looks like it’s down there!”

“Be careful.” Cloud warns. Aerith turns and gives him a smirk before sliding down into the crater. Cloud sighs heavily before following her down. When he reaches the bottom, she’s waiting for him and he brushes himself off, “You good?”

“Yup!” Aerith looks up and sees Tifa sliding down, much more gracefully than she did, and coming to a stop at the bottom.

Cloud begins walking towards the Black Materia as if he’s drawn to it. Aerith lets out a quiet gasp, and her eyes follow him. He doesn’t react to her and continues moving forward.

_“Get the Black Materia…”_

“Cloud…?” Tifa begins moving towards him.

Aerith gets a very strong urge to stop him and decides instead to run ahead of him and grab the black orb herself. When she turns to him, his eyes are glued into her and his face is blank. He begins to stumble towards her and his eyes begin to glow. He reaches up to grab his sword and Aerith gasps loudly backing away from him.

“Cloud, no!” Tifa yells and begins running towards her. As she does, Sephiroth appears right before her eyes with his maniacal smirk. She freezes upon seeing a familiar sword, the Masamune, held to his side. Shaking her head, she begins moving towards Cloud again as he slowly removes his sword from his back and approaches Aerith, “Cloud, stop!” Tifa pleads. She’s not getting through to him.

“Good… very good…” Sephiroth says as he watches Cloud get closer to Aerith. Aerith has run out of places to back into and hits the side of the crater. Her eyes are wide.

“Cloud… it’s me…” Aerith says softly. He continues to close in on her, slowly.

Tifa bolts in front of Aerith and puts her fists up, “Cloud, you have to stop this! Please! It’s Aerith! Our friend.”

Cloud stops for a moment and stares at Tifa and puts his sword on his back again. Sephiroth laughs and Cloud begins approaching her again, this time without his sword drawn. Tifa turns to see Aerith boldly staring at Sephiroth. While she’s distracted, she’s pushed out of the way and falls over. The Whispers. They’ve also blocked off the top of the crater to prevent any of the others from getting down to them.

Tifa quickly picks herself back up and attempts to get between the two of them again but is constantly pushed back. She sees flashes. A young Cloud and then the one from present day. Young Cloud is screaming, but no sound is coming out. He’s begging, pleading. Tifa’s eyes widen. Aerith stands tall as Cloud comes right within her reach.

Cloud raises his fist at her, but Tifa is able to break through the Whispers and grab his arm, stopping it just as Aerith begins to flinch and prepare for the impact. Cloud turns to Tifa and she gasps. His eyes are slits, just like Sephiroth’s. She holds firm, fearing if she lets go that he’ll successfully land a blow on Aerith. Tifa notices how strong he is at this point and she won’t be able to hold him back for very long.

Cloud keeps his gaze set on Tifa as they struggle for the upper hand. She swears she can hear a voice begging him to stop.

“Aerith!” Tifa keeps her grip strong as she gasps and sees a black-haired man slide down and land beside Aerith.

“What?!” Tifa loses her focus just enough for Cloud to break free. Zack is able to grab Aerith and move her out of the way before the blow lands. Cloud looks over at Zack with the same intense stare that he gave Aerith and begins to walk towards them faster.

“Sephiroth stop this!” Zack pleads as he holds Aerith behind him.

Tifa is in shock at what is happening right now. Did Aerith know Zack was here? Why didn’t she say anything?

Zack looks back at Aerith and whispers something to her. She nods and hands him the Black Materia. He spins it in his hand a few times while looking at Cloud and smirks, “Looking for this?”

Sephiroth lets out a quiet laugh before looking at Tifa, “Why do you care so much about a mere--”

“Stop!” Aerith yells.

Sephiroth smirks at her and looks at Cloud, who is still stumbling towards Zack. Cloud suddenly stops and looks at Tifa. His eyes revert back to normal and his features soften. Fear. Worry. Uncertainty. She runs to him as his eyes roll back and he falls to the ground.

“Cloud!” Aerith yells and crouches down next to Tifa as she gently pushes some of the hair out of his face. His skin is cold and damp.

“Aerith…” Zack starts and moves slightly closer to her, “You need to all get out of here before Sephiroth comes back… I’ll hold onto the Black Materia for now… and we’ll meet up later.”

Aerith looks at him with a bit of concern and uncertainty. She slowly stands and approaches him, “Zack… where are you going?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure I find you later. You’re staying in Gongaga, right?” He grins at her.

“Yeah…” She whispers and looks down.

“Aerith, don’t worry… I’ll see you again.” He scratches the back of his neck, “I know that’s not exactly, well, I don’t blame you for not believing me.”

Aerith smiles weakly at him and laughs, “We should get Cloud somewhere safe.” She turns back and sees Tifa gently caressing his face and swears there is a tear or two slowly going down her cheek.

***

_“A… forest?” Cloud feels like he’s floating and then feels his feet touch solid ground, “Where am I?”_

_“The Sleeping Forest.” A woman’s voice. He looks up and sees Aerith float down and land in front of him._

_“Is this… a dream?” Cloud asks as he looks around._

_“Could be.” She laughs._

_“Aerith… I’m… really sorry about what happened.”_

_She smiles at him, “No, no, it’s alright. I understand.”_

_“Understand?”_

_“Listen, let me and—” she stops herself, “Let me handle Sephiroth before you have a breakdown, okay?”_

_“But—”_

_“No buts, Cloud… Tifa is worried sick about you, you know.”_

_Cloud’s eyes widen a bit and he blushes, “She… is?”_

_Aerith nods and smirks at him, “Of course she is…”_

_Cloud looks down and sighs, “I…”_

_“Hey, Cloud…” Aerith turns from him to look into the depths of the forest, “If you’re really worried about what happened… then you should REALLY worry about it… And do something.”_

_“Huh?” He looks up at her._

_“Time to go… but… I’ll be back. Don’t worry… too much.” Aerith turns to him one last time and smiles before running towards a whitish-green light ahead._

_“Wait!” He yells and reaches out to her, “Where are you going?!” His legs are glued in place. Sephiroth appears in front of him. Cloud clenches his fist and grits his teeth, “You…”_

_Sephiroth smirks at him, “Will this be another failure, Cloud? Maybe you should stay away… All you do is fail and hurt those around you…”_

***

Cloud’s eyes fly open and he inhales deeply. As his vision focuses, he sees Tifa sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at him and forcing a weak smile. Her eyes clearly show her exhaustion.

He hears a grunt from the other side of the room and slowly turns. Barret is looking at him suspiciously and with a scowl on his face, “See you’re up.”

“What… happened… How long was I asleep?” Cloud says weakly as he tries to sit up. His head is killing him, and he feels somewhat nauseous.

“Um… About 24 hours…” Tifa looks at Barret and then back to Cloud, “At the temple…”

“Damn near killed Aerith and Tifa!” Barret shouts.

Cloud’s eyes widen and he looks at Tifa.

“No… Cloud… You didn’t try to hurt me.” Tifa says softly and shoots a look over to Barret.

Barret looks at Tifa and frowns a bit, “You… I’m gonna let you deal with this.” He says before storming out.

“I hurt… Aerith?”

Tifa looks at him and sees nothing but fear and sadness, like a lost child. She can’t get the image of his eyes changing out of her head and she looks away quickly. Cloud frowns and opens his mouth, but Tifa cuts him off, “We stopped you but…” She begins wringing her fingers before looking at him, “Aerith is gone.”

“Gone?!”

“She… we don’t know where she went.”

Cloud sits up and shakes his head, “She left… because of me?”

“No, Cloud. I… she didn’t tell any of us she was leaving, but I think she left… to protect you.”

Cloud swings his legs over the side of the bed and sits next to Tifa, who is now looking at the floor, “Did the others go after her?”

Tifa simply shakes her head no without looking up. They sit in silence for a few moments before Cloud softly says, “I’m afraid…”

Tifa looks at him and her heart feels like it’s going to break, “Cloud… what are you afraid of?”

“I’m afraid I’m going to hurt you, Tifa. Or Aerith. Or one of the others…” Cloud puts his head in his hands, “I feel like I’m losing control.” His voice cracks a bit. Tifa gently places her hand on his arm and squeezes lightly.

“Cloud, we won’t let you, okay? Listen to me…” She coaxes him to look at her, “If you think you’re going to lose it… Just… think of…” She thinks back to the flash she saw of a young Cloud, “Think of the Water Tower. Think of… the starry sky that night.”

Cloud looks at her and blinks a few times before nodding slowly.

“But, Cloud… We have to go after Aerith. Do you have any idea where should could have gone?”

Cloud’s face scrunches up a bit and he nods, “She’s in a forest. I think I remember hearing her mention a place up on the Northern Continent…”

“The Forgotten City.” Cloud and Tifa look up to see Vincent and Barret standing in the doorway, “I apologize for intruding, but the others are getting anxious on what to do next. Would you prefer if…”

Cloud stands, “No, I’m going. I… Have to.”

“I dunno, man…” Barret scratches the back of his head, “What if you lose it again? We may have to—"

“Barret!” Tifa snaps at him.

Barret’s face softens a bit and he looks down, “Sorry.”

“We should get moving.” Cloud says as he places his sword on his back, “We need to find a way to the Northern Continent. I think that’s where Aerith went.”

***

Aerith approaches the Forgotten City and feels overwhelmed. A city abandoned for thousands of years, yet still has homes standing. A testament to what life may have been like for her ancestors. She notices Zack standing at the crossroads, smiling gently at her. She feels relief but also suspicion begins to creep in.

“How did you—?” She starts.

“I had a feeling, that’s all.” He grins at her and holds out the Black Materia for her, “Now that Cloud isn’t here… you should be safe to hold this.”

She smiles at him, “You can hold on to it for me…” Zack’s smile widens, and he puts it back in his pocket, “Zack, it’s great to see you again. When this is all over…”

“There will be plenty of time for that!” He grins at her again and turns towards the large structure in the center of the city, “Don’t you have something to do? The faster we do this, the faster we can get that flower cart fixed!”

She smiles at him brightly, but when he turns, it immediately turns to a frown. Aerith’s gut is gnawing at her to question this further, but she suppresses it. This has to be Zack… Who else could it be?

As Zack walks towards the Forgotten City with Aerith close behind, his eyes flash to glowing green and cat-like as a wry smile spreads across his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The time is almost upon us all...


	12. Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No previews for this chapter... 
> 
> Forgotten City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the comments. I'm really glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one just as much.

Cid stands at the entrance of Gongaga, slowly smoking a cigarette and observing the dark sky on the horizon. It figures they’d get bad weather right now, when they needed to figure out a way to head north and find their friend. He sighs and takes a final drag of his Midgar Red before dropping it and stomping it out. He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a small silver flask, opens it, and downs the rest of the liquid inside.

“Guess I gotta get more whiskey…” He grumbles to himself before putting the item back in his pocket. He hears footsteps approaching from behind and turns to see Vincent, Red, and Barret, “What’s the news?”

Barret huffs, “He’s awake. No luck on getting through to Aerith’s PHS.”

“Damn… We leavin’?” Cid asks and then gestures towards the dark clouds, “Not sure if it’ll be a good idea right now.”

Vincent shakes his head, “I don’t think we should until the incoming storm passes. The Inn here is being extremely accommodating and said we can stay as long as needed.”

The three men stood there awkwardly for a few moments before Cid finally spoke again, “So… We gonna leave him here or…?”

“Though he seemingly lost control of himself, I do not think we should cast him off.” Red looks up at Cid, “And I believe Tifa may be a bit upset if she heard that suggestion.”

Cid snorts, “Don’t get what a girl like that sees in the guy.”

Barret shakes his head and chuckles a bit, “Childhood friends. You know how it goes… Plus… well, they’re both from Nibelheim. Not sure if you knew that…”

Cid grunts and gestures a sad understanding, “Well, I guess… But the son of a bitch tries anything…”

“I’ll take care of that myself.” Barret says sternly, “Well, maybe… I dunno.” He scratches the back of his head, “I’m torn on it, man. I’ve known the guy for a few weeks now and he can be a cold son of a bitch at times, but for him to go after one of his own… Something ain’t right.”

“I agree.” Vincent looks over towards the Inn, “Red and I spoke to Aerith before she left… She wants to make sure we do not blame Cloud for what happened.”

Barret snaps his head over to Vincent and Red, “When the hell were you gonna tell us that?!”

“Aerith informed us that she has someone helping her, but we are not sure who. We believe it may have been the man that showed up and helped us get Cloud out of the crater were the Temple of the Ancients once stood.” Red sighs, “I believe his name is Zack.”

Cid shakes his head. He looks up and spots Yuffie running towards them, “Oh great…” He rolls his eyes.

“Hey!” Yuffie yells and runs a bit further before stopping next to Vincent and Barret, “Cloud says we’re leaving.”

“That is not a good idea.” Vincent says flatly without looking at her.

“Huh?” She looks at Vincent, confused.

“A storm is coming in. We should wait until it passes.” He replies and turns to walk back towards the Inn.

“Why does he always have to act so cool?” Yuffie huffs and rolls her eyes. Cid and Barret look at each other and shrug before turning to follow Vincent.

Red stops near Yuffie, “Yuffie, do not mention the man we saw to Cloud.”

Yuffie looks over at Red, “Why?”

“Aerith and Tifa have both urged us not to mention him. I am not sure why, but it seems important.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever… I won’t.” Red begins to walk away and Yuffie huffs, “Why is everybody so weird?”

***

Tifa takes a deep breath before entering Cloud’s room again, holding a bottle of water and snacks for him. She slowly opens the door and sees him sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at the floor. He looks up when he hears the door shut and gives her a slight smile.

“I was able to get you some things.” Tifa says as she places the bottle of water and crackers next to him, “I think you should try to eat something…”

Cloud frowns a bit as he looks at the items but then looks up at her with a look of gratitude, “Thank you, Tifa.” He says softly and opens the bottle of water, taking a few sips.

“Do you need anything else?” She asks and tilts her head. He looks up at her and their eyes lock. He shakes his head slowly. She blushes and turns from him.

“Tifa…”

Tifa looks over at him again, “Yeah?”

Cloud is looking at the floor, “Are you afraid of me?”

Tifa’s eyes widen and she freezes. Is she? The delay in her response prompts him to look up at her. She sighs softly and sits next to him, “No, Cloud… I’m not afraid of you…”

He looks back down and stays quiet for a moment before softly asking, “Why?”

“I…” She hears the door open and pops up off of the bed. Barret walks in first, followed by Yuffie, Vincent, Red, and Cid.

Barret looks at Cloud and his expression softens a bit, “Hey… how you doin’, man?”

Cloud looks up at Barret, somewhat wide eyed and simply nods his head slowly. Barret looks at him and smiles a bit before looking over at Tifa, “We got a storm comin’ in… Should wait it out.”

Tifa looks over at Cloud and then back to the others, “Do you think it’s okay to wait? What if…?”

“Aerith will be fine.” Vincent steps forward a bit, “It is best that we trust her with this. I believe she may know more than us.”

Cloud looks over at everyone, “When the storm passes, we’ll head out. In the meantime… I’m sorry, everyone, for what happened. I wish I could explain it…”

“Hey, man, we’ll worry about it later.” Barret says and walks over, putting a hand on his shoulder, “Should get some more rest so we’re ready.” Cloud looks up at him and nods.

***

A few hours later, after the storm had passed and the group ate a much needed hot meal, they set off towards Costa del Sol to inquire on a ferry to the Northern Continent, knowing that the Tiny Bronco would never make it up that far with all of them on it. The buggy had luckily been nearby for them to utilize. Cid insisted that he should drive, since Cloud still seemed a bit tired. Cloud agreed without much of a fight and took a seat in the center row.

Barret cracked a smile at him as he happily took the front passenger’s seat, putting the seat as far back as he could, right into Cloud’s knees. Tifa frowned when she got in and had Cloud switch seats with her, knowing Barret wouldn’t slam his seat back into her knees. Red and Vincent sat in the third row of seats and were quiet for most of the ride. Barret and Cid would talk about things here and there, mostly lighthearted conversation.

Cloud felt somewhat nauseous sitting in the middle seat but figured it must be from everything that had happened, and maybe from not eating enough at dinner, much to Tifa’s dismay. He would look over at Tifa every so often to see her drifting off into her own world as she looked out of the window. Since it was already dark, he wasn’t sure what she was looking at, but would sometimes catch her looking up at the sky.

Eventually, Cloud decided to look out of his window as well to see if he could catch the stars in the sky. He wondered about many things. Did Aerith hate him now? Why did he feel so terrible about that? A failure, just like Sephiroth said… And Tifa. For some reason, he didn’t believe that she wasn’t afraid of him. How couldn’t she be? Didn’t he attack her too? That’s what Barret said, right?

“Think about it too hard and you’ll hurt yourself.” Cid chuckles as he looks back at Cloud. Cloud is jolted from his thoughts and looks over at the man, wide eyed. Tifa is also looking at him, with the same smile she always seems to have when she’s worried about him. He feels Tifa’s hand gently cover his and she gives him a look of reassurance. Cloud’s PHS begins ringing. They all anxiously wait to see who it is. Maybe Aerith?

Cloud looks at the screen and doesn’t recognize the number, “Hello?” Cloud listens for a moment, “Alright, guess we’ll see you then…”

“Huh?” Tifa asks.

“I guess Cait Sith’s replacement body is going to meet us in Costa del Sol.” Cloud shrugs.

***

After some discussions with a dock worker at Costa del Sol, they were able to secure a stowaway ride up to Bone Village for a few hundred Gil, which should put them right outside of the Sleeping Forest. Red and Vincent found a corner behind some boxes, and eventually Cid, Cait Sith, and Barret joined them as well to play a few games of cards. Cait Sith’s new body is exactly the same as his old one, including the voice. Yuffie sees all of the guys hide in their corner and rolls her eyes. She decides to hide somewhere else, playing around on her PHS.

Cloud looks behind a few boxes before frowning, realizing Tifa doesn’t appear to be down with the rest of them. He looks towards the stairs and wonders if she snuck off. Sighing, he quietly makes his way up, hoping that she wasn’t going to get caught, since they weren’t supposed to be on this ship in the first place. His question was answered as soon as he approached the top of the stairs and saw Tifa’s long ebony locks flowing in the wind.

He pauses for a moment to watch her silently look out to the dark sea, holding a blanket close around her shoulders. Cloud slowly walks up and stands next to her, leaning over the railing and looking out at the sea as well.

“Hey.” She softly says and turns her head slightly to catch his glance.

“Hey.” He replies, “Aren’t you, uh, cold?”

“A little, but it’s kind of nice, honestly.”

Cloud cocks an eyebrow at her and turns to face her fully, “Being cold is nice?”

She lets out a small laugh, “I suppose it’s the fresh air. It gets stuffy in that buggy, you know.”

Cloud huffs out the hint of a laugh, “I can’t argue with you there.”

For a few moments, they stand in silence, listening to the wind whip past them. Tifa finally turns and looks at him, “Do you think Aerith is okay?”

Cloud looks away from her slightly, “I think so.”

“Yeah… I sometimes feel like she knows more…” Tifa trails off.

Cloud simply nods.

“Sometimes it feels like we’re being pulled there, you know?” She says and looks back out to the sea.

_“That’s very accurate…”_ Cloud swallows hard and suppresses the thought, “Yeah.” He suddenly feels a blanket drape over his shoulders and tenses up. He looks over at her, “Tifa?”

She’s smiling at him and he feels her hand leave his back, “You looked cold.”

“Oh… I wasn’t…” Cloud clears his throat.

Tifa laughs, “Can’t have you getting sick now, can we?”

“I suppose not… Thanks.” He can feel the warmth of her left arm on his right arm and a part of him is going mad, realizing it’s been a while since they’ve been this close. Have things really gotten this crazy? He also didn’t want Tifa to get the wrong idea and have her think he’s like all of those other guys that he could overhear in Sector 7 talking about her. Cloud begins grinding his teeth.

“Oh, if you’re uncomfortable…” Tifa says and moves a bit away.

Cloud’s eyes widen and he looks at her, “No, Tifa. I’m not.” She smiles at him and relaxes again.

“How much longer do you think?” She asks.

“They said we should be there by sunrise…” Cloud unconsciously moves closer to her.

“Maybe we should go to sleep…” She suggests and looks over at him.

“Sure…”

The two of them walk back down below deck. Yuffie has fallen asleep while watching the show she swore she hated, _Moomba Forever 7_. Tifa quietly walks over and locks her PHS so the sound turns off. Tifa turns to the other corner, where she can hear quiet arguing over the card game being played and turns back over to Cloud.

“You going to be okay?” He asks her softly, turning somewhat red.

“Um, can you sit with me?” She asks him and looks down, “Just… until I go to sleep. I mean, you don’t have to.”

“Tifa, I don’t mind.” Cloud says and then thinks to himself, _“I’d prefer to be with you right now.”_

Tifa smiles at him and they find a corner away from the others. She takes a seat and puts the blanket over her legs, trying to find a way to get comfortable against the cargo containers. Cloud sits next to her, only a few inches away, which makes her happy for some reason. She fidgets around a bit, trying to find the most comfortable position.

“It may be better if you lay down…” Cloud suggests and moves to allow her to try it. She already misses his warmth being in her proximity. She lays down and does feel a bit better, bunching an extra blanket up to use as a pillow.

Tifa looks over at him, “You should sleep too, Cloud.” He looks over at her and nods, shifting to lay on his back near her. Tifa nudges him and offers him some of the blanket. He accepts it and places it over himself, settling in as best he can. Tifa nudges him again and offers him some of the makeshift pillow. She blushes when she realizes how close they’re going to be but continues to encourage him to use it.

Once he’s settled a bit, he feels Tifa relax near him, only inches away. She quietly whispers, “Goodnight, Cloud.”

“Goodnight, Tifa.” He says softly and watches as she rolls to face away from him. He looks at her for a bit and is overcome with the urge to hold her close. He loses the battle he’s having with himself and wraps an arm around her waist, holding her as close to him as he can without hurting her. He feels her tense up.

Tifa gasps and her eyes widen, “C-Cloud?” She asks quietly and attempts to look behind her, but Cloud has his face buried in the back of her head.

He’s quiet for a moment before asking her quietly, and somewhat muffled, “Tifa… I’m me… right?”

“Huh?” This question both surprises and horrifies her.

“I’m… I’m the same Cloud you grew up with, right?”

“Of course you are.” She says a little too loudly.

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t…” He begins to pull away, but she grabs his arm and holds it in place.

“Cloud, if this is what makes you realize you are here… with me… in this moment, then you should… continue to do it.” She feels her heart rate increase as she feels him tense a bit behind her. Her mind starts to wander as she feels the hardened planes of his chest and abdomen press even closer to her back.

“I’m not hurting you, am I?”

She lets out a small laugh, “Not at all.” She blushes at how this sounds and hopes that none of the others can hear them. Perhaps they were asleep, since she no longer really heard the muffled arguing coming from the other corner of the ship. Slowly she closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep.

Cloud notices her breathing even out and can’t help but take in everything in this moment. The smell of her hair, still a hint of vanilla from whatever shampoo Yuffie or Aerith must have last purchased. He relished in the comfort this provided, and the tapping in of something deep within himself that he couldn’t understand, no matter how hard he tried. A secret he seemed to keep even from himself.

***

Rude approaches the steps leading to the Executive Suite, looking down at his PHS to ensure he was reading the text correctly. He scrolls up and back down a few times and then locks it before placing it in his pocket. Reno sighs heavily from the side and looks over at Rude.

“Do we really have to do this right now?” He asks Rude.

“He wants an update on Tseng’s status.” Rude simply says.

Reno rolls his eyes, “Whatever… Are you going to tell him the other thing?”

Rude clears his throat, “Tseng asked us to mention it and that he’ll provide details once he’s able.” The two men push the heavy doors open leading to Rufus’ desk and notice he’s staring out of the window behind it. Rufus, more than not, did not sit at his desk.

Rude approaches the front of the desk and stands up straight, nudging Reno to do the same. He clears his throat, “Sir.”

Rufus turns and looks at them with a neutral expression, “How is he?”

“His condition is improving. They believe he will make a full recovery within a few days.” Rude states.

“Good. I’m glad to hear that.” Rufus turns and walks towards the two men, “Is that all?”

Reno and Rude look at each other and Reno looks back to Rufus, “Well, there’s this other detail, but you look really busy, so…” Rude grabs Reno as he attempts to escape. Rufus raises an eyebrow and stares intensely at both men.

“We got word that a missing member of SOLDIER appeared at the Temple of the Ancients.” Rude says and looks down.

Rufus looks at both of them and blinks a few times, “There aren’t many ‘missing’ members of SOLDIER… Is it Fair?”

Rude nods.

“I see.” Rufus sits down and leans his head on his right hand, “We’ve confirmed it’s actually him?”

“No, sir… From what was stated, it appeared to be him, but we have not received confirmation.” Rude shifts uncomfortably.

“Was his body ever recovered from the bluffs?”

“No, sir.”

“I see…”

“Guy was dead as could be last time we saw him…” Reno says and looks at Rude for confirmation, “He was shot I don’t know how many times…”

Rufus looks at Reno and sighs quietly, “Was he alone?”

“Yeah. At least he was when we saw him at the bluffs… but before that…”

Rufus stands again and turns away from them, approaching the window, “Tell Tseng I will come and see him a bit later. Perhaps in the morning.”

Rude and Reno know this is his way of telling them they’re dismissed. They turn to leave, but Rufus adds, “One other thing… Do not mention Fair to Heidegger or Scarlet. We do not need to draw attention to this.”

The two men look at each other and then back to Rufus, nodding. Rufus does not turn back towards them, and the two men being to walk towards the door.

_“Zack Fair… SOLDIER First Class. Killed in Action just a few weeks ago. Yet we never recovered his body to confirm it…”_ Rufus laughs to himself, _“Of course he is. He’d never have given that sword up unless he was.”_ Rufus looks out across the night sky, illuminated by the overabundance of light and mako. He turns slightly to ensure Reno and Rude have left before heading back to his desk.

Rufus picks his PHS up and looks at it for a moment before sighing and scrolling through his contacts. Selecting one, he brings the device to his ear and it begins to ring. He walks back towards the window and hears the intended recipient pick up on the other end, “Hojo… I need you to provide me with any information you have on the Reunion Theory… Be here at noon. Transportation will be provided.”

Hojo couldn’t have denied the request even if he wanted to, since Rufus hung up promptly after his last statement. Rufus chews on his cheek for a moment before turning and placing the PHS back on his desk.

***

Cloud sits up and shakes his head, hearing the blare of the ship’s horn, indicating they must have docked. Tifa is still on her side, breathing gently. He observes her for a moment before gently shaking her, “Tifa…” she begins to stir, “We’re here.”

Her eyes open and she smiles gently at Cloud. Slowly sitting up, she runs her fingers through her hair to correct any rebellious strands that decided to go awry during her sleep. She particularly must work on the back of her head where Cloud must have been nuzzling her. He realizes this and blushes before mumbling a quiet apology and standing up, placing his sword on his back.

Red emerges from behind the corner followed by Vincent and Barret. Red approaches Cloud and Tifa and looks around, “Where is Yuffie?”

“Here!” Yuffie yells and jumps out from behind a stack of crates.

“Shhhh!” Barret hisses at her, “We gotta wait until we get the signal that it’s safe to leave!” Yuffie rolls her eyes. Cid and Cait Sith emerge from the corner.

“What’s the plan?” Cid asks feeling around in his pockets to prepare his first smoke of the day for when they’re off of the ship.

“We’ll stop in Bone Village and see if they saw Aerith pass through.” Cloud states, “Then we will hopefully know what direction to go at that point.” The team nods in agreement and sees their conspirator sneak down the stairs to motion that it’s safe to leave. As they go up the stairs, they’re hit with how much colder it is than anywhere else they’ve been.

Cid, Vincent, and Red seem to be fine by the stark temperature change, but Yuffie and Tifa are huddled close to each other. Cait Sith, of course, isn’t affected at all by this, and toddles along towards the village ahead, the other three warm individuals following. Cloud thinks that it may not be a bad idea to stop and get warmer clothing for Yuffie and Tifa.

“G-Geez…” Yuffie chatters, “I-I d-don’t know i-if I’ve e-e-ever been i-in a p-place t-this c-cold.”

“It’s only going to get colder. We should make sure to get you two warmer clothes while we’re here.” Cloud says. Tifa nods and Yuffie briskly walks ahead, arms crossed in front of her.

“What about you?” Tifa asks quietly as the begin following Yuffie, “You’re not dressed very warm yourself.”

Cloud shrugs, “The mako keeps me warm most of the time.”

Tifa smirks, “Is that why you’re only slightly shivering?” Cloud can’t help but be humored by her teasing. Maybe this is making her feel better.

They walk only a short distance before they’re near the entrance of the village, which is surrounded by a forest. The town itself was small, with a few structures, but there were more tents than anything. Villagers were in shallow ditches brushing around what appeared to be fossils and other objects, marking them, and pulling out notebooks to log what they were finding.

“Well I’ll be damned. This is Bone Village.” Cid looks around, “Always wanted to come see this place. They pretty much all dig and find ancient relics and stuff like that.”

“Archeology.” Vincent simply says.

A man is sitting in a chair outside of one of the few structures in the town peeling off pieces of an apple with a pocketknife and popping the slices in his mouth. Tifa, still somewhat shivering, walks over to him and smiles. The man returns a smile to her, “Hello young lady! Not often we see many folks from the outside, but this makes it two days in a row!”

Tifa froze, “Wait… Did you see others yesterday?”

“Yes, miss. Girl in pink and a guy with black hair. Vibrant fella. Cute young couple they were…” He smiles as he continues to eat his apple. He notices Tifa shivering and frowns a bit, “Looks like you aren’t dressed for up here. Where y’all from?”

“Um, Midgar.” She says and turns to see Cloud coming up behind her.

“Quite a hike. We’ve got some coats in the shop. I’d reckon you should pick up one for yourself.” The man nods as Cloud approaches, “You should too, son. It only gets colder as you go north.”

Cloud looks somewhat confused as he looks over at Tifa who offers a tiny smile to him before explaining, “This gentleman said he saw Aerith yesterday come through here.” Cloud nods and looks at the man.

“They came in while it was dark. I told ‘em not to go in the forest but… She insisted. I explained the Lunar Harp and the rumors of the forest swallowing people – never allowing them to leave, but she just smiled happily. The fel—”

“Thank you so much!” Tifa cuts him off, “You have no idea how much we appreciate all you’ve already told us…” She looks back at Cloud, “We should go buy those coats, yeah?” Cloud tilted his head a bit at her and looked confused. The man also looked a bit confused at how Tifa visibly got incredibly nervous but shrugged it off.

“If you are going to the forest, you’ll need the Lunar Harp. Maybe you’ll find the poor girl stuck in there.” The man throws the apple core into a compost pile in the distance and leans back in his chair.

“Where do we get this Lunar Harp?” Cloud asks.

“Dig it up. They say it should be near the entrance to the forest. Legend has it the forest buries it again once it’s been used. Successfully or not. I dunno, maybe they did get it yesterday. I wasn’t payin’ much mind to them.”

Tifa looks over at Cloud, who’s frowning, “And how long does it take to dig it up?” He asks.

“Eh, won’t be long. They’re pretty good at finding it. Just let me know and I’ll tell them to start. It’ll be 500 Gil per digger.” The man flashes a smile at Cloud who groans quietly, but forks over 2,000 Gil to cover the cost of four men, “Thank ya kindly!”

At this point, Yuffie comes over, chattering away. Tifa lets out a small giggle and motions for her to follow her into the store. Cloud looks behind him to see the other four members looking down into one of the dig sites and observing the work. Knowing that he should keep an eye on these two – Yuffie in particular – he sighs and walks into the store. He swears he hears the man snort.

The two girls look through the selection of coats. Tifa decides on a more lightweight, body hugging style in white and black, knowing that anything bulky would limit her ability to fight appropriately. Yuffie decides on something similar in green but wants white faux fur on the hood for flair.

Cloud frowns at the coat Yuffie selects, “Does fur cost extra?”

“Psh, no, why would it?” Yuffie laughs nervously. Cloud stares at her and crosses his arms.

Tifa tries to stop herself from letting out a small giggle but fails. Looking at Cloud with her begging eyes, “I don’t think they cost much more, Cloud… It’s just a small aesthetic.” Cloud sighs heavily and drops his arms before moving to the side to let the two pay for their coats.

After leaving the store, they meet up with the rest of the gang. Cloud looks over at Tifa and Yuffie, who are happily in their new coats and not chattering as much. Barret smiles at them and nods, happy to see that they’re now warmer than they previously were.

Cid looks over at Barret, “You’re not cold?”

“Nah, got fire in my blood.” Barret slaps his chest a few times. Cid shrugs and then gestures over at Cloud, “Guessing you’ve got something else in your blood?”

“Mako.” Cloud flatly says.

One of the men working in the dig site looks up, “Mako and fire will only get ya so far once you get past the Forgotten City. Don’t know where you folks are going, but you’ll get frost bite if ya don’t bundle up right. All snow from that point on.”

Cloud frowns at the thought. It wouldn’t be good if him or Barret got any type of frostbite, and who knows the next time they’d be at a place that could provide proper medical care. Sighing he looks over at Barret and Barret nods, knowing what Cloud is asking. The two men simply walk over to the store to buy themselves coats.

About 10 minutes later, Barret comes stomping and huffing out of the store with a very oversized white puffer coat in his arms. Yuffie starts snorting and then cackling loudly. Vincent even has to turn himself towards something else to hide whatever amusement had started to play across his face. Cid, Cait Sith, and Red all start laughing with Yuffie. Tifa is covering her mouth, trying very hard not to make Barret even angrier than he already was.

“Damn fools never have the right stuff.” Barret grumbles as he looks at the coat, “I’m gonna have to cut the damn arm to get my gun through it.”

“Well, I’m sure they’re not used to catering to men with large weapons attached to their bodies.” Red attempts to stay serious while stating this, but somewhat fails.

Cloud comes up behind Barret, holding a dark blue coat that’s lightweight, similar to what Tifa purchased, “We good?” He looks around.

Vincent looks over at him, “Yes, they found the Lunar Harp while you were all shopping.” Cloud isn’t sure if Vincent is being sarcastic or serious at this point regarding the shopping comment but ignores it for now.

“Then let’s go.” He simply says and heads towards the entrance to the Sleeping Forest. A man is sitting next to it, reading a book. Yuffie gasps excitedly and runs over to him.

“Oh. My. Goodness.” She says jumping up and down, “Is that what I think it is?!”

The man looks up, “Uh… it’s _Deprive: The Guide to Moomba Forever 7_. Why?”

“I’ve never seen a copy, but totally know it’s _full_ of bad info. But it’s still so cool.” Yuffie says and puts a hand on her hip.

The man chuckles, “Yeah, it’s a nostalgia item if anything. My wife used to like watching that show. Figured I’d read it a bit while I’m sitting here. Lot of inaccuracies, but still fun to take a look at.”

“Yuffie.” Vincent has now stepped up beside her, “We have somewhere to be.” Yuffie rolls her eyes and waves at the man before running back over to Tifa. The man blinks a few times looking at the crew standing before him.

As they begin to walk towards the forest, the man shuts his book and stands, “Hold on. Where ya guys going?”

“Uh, the forest?” Cloud gives him a confused look.

“You got the harp?”

“Yup.” Cloud holds the object up.

“Alright, I’m gonna warn you. The forest is gonna try to trick you. Gotta keep your wits about ya in there.” He says nodding, “May see things. I’ve heard all kinds of stories. All I know is, the harp’ll make sure you get to where ya need to be. Won’t prevent any of the oddities, though.”

Cloud thinks for a moment, “We’ll keep this in mind. Thanks.” The man nods at them and sits back down, resuming his reading. Yuffie tries to peer over his shoulder, but Cid grabs her arm and pulls her into the forest.

As they enter, the illusions begin. Turning around, they can no longer see Bone Village, just more of the same forest, which has a light green hue glowing throughout it.

“Stay close.” Cloud says and looks around, gazing at Tifa a bit longer than the others, “We don’t know what’s going to happen here, so we should continue to just head straight.”

As they move through the forest, the atmosphere begins to feel heavy. Tifa thinks she can hear whispers all around her and isn’t sure if it’s the leaves rustling in the wind or something else. Yuffie is wide-eyed and staying very close to Vincent and Red, who also look like they’re on high alert. It seems that everyone is getting the same feeling.

Suddenly, things begin to go static and Tifa is alone in the Sleeping Forest, “What!? Cloud?! Barret?! Yuffie?! Anybody?! Can anybody hear me?!” She starts to breathe heavily and spin around, trying to see any sign of one of her friends. She turns towards what she believes is the exit and sees Aerith standing there, smiling gently. She gasps and begins running towards her, “Aerith!”

“Tifa, it’s okay.” Aerith says as Tifa gets close to her, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“What about you? Where are you? Why did you just leave us?” Tifa begins to catch her breath a bit.

“I’m sorry about that. I learned what I must do at the Temple of the Ancients. I didn’t want to get you and the others involved. Especially Cloud.” She smiles sadly.

“Aerith, why didn’t you tell me? And Cloud is okay, he just…”

Aerith shakes her head and looks down, “Tifa, you and I both know that’s not true.” Tifa feels a lump grow in her throat as Aerith continues, “But it’s not his fault. I can’t say much more. I don’t have a lot of time, but please, turn around. Leave. Zack and I will take care of this.”

“You know Cloud isn’t going to turn around.” Tifa says, “And neither am I. Aerith… you’re our friend!”

Aerith smiles and turns from Tifa, “Thank you, Tifa. For everything.”

Tifa is snapped back to the others. They gasp loudly and Cloud, looking as if he was going to murder someone, softens his face and briskly walks over to her, “Are you hurt?! What happened?!”

“I… Cloud we should go. I think Aerith is in trouble.” Tifa pushes out quickly, “I saw Aerith.”

“Tifa…” Red gently says, “We were warned that the Sleeping Forest can cause illusions and hallucinations. It’s possible it was that…”

“Your anxiety and fear regarding Aerith’s wellbeing may be causing you to see these things.” Vincent states gently, knowing that increasing Tifa’s anxiousness will only make things worse.

“But--!” Tifa protests and puts her head down, biting her lip, “But it felt real…”

Cloud frowns at her, “Tifa, we should keep moving and get out of the forest… We’ll see Aerith soon.”

Tifa sighs, “Yeah, you’re right…”

***

Zack observes the object from different directions. He scratches the back of his head and shakes it, sighing in defeat, “I have no idea what this thing does.”

“It’s okay. I don’t think we need it right now, Zack.” Aerith says and continues to look around the large room that has an alter in the center.

“Maybe it’s a music box?” Zack suggests and grins.

“I suppose it could be, huh?” Aerith walks up to the upper floor and towards the alter. Zack is still fiddling around with the mystery object to the side when suddenly, she sees water begin to fall from the ceiling, surrounding her and hiding anything outside of it from view. She hears the sound of flashing steel above her and looks up, seeing Masamune flying down in front of her. Gasping, she jumps back and watches the sword land in the center of the alter.

Sephiroth descends shortly after, smirking at her. Aerith grits her teeth and clenches her fists.

“I see you’ve found him.” Sephiroth says and his smirk grows, “Did you get what you desire?”

Aerith stays quiet.

“Are you sure?”

She closes her eyes and tries to slow her breathing.

“It must be nice to see him after all this time.” Sephiroth raises his hand, “But are you sure it’s who you desire? Is it the one you hoped for?”

Aerith looks Sephiroth in the eye with a scowl etched on her face, “What have you done?”

Sephiroth laughs, “No, you’re mistaken. It’s not what I’ve done… It’s what _you’ve_ done.” Around her, she begins to see images appearing on the water walls.

“Do you remember…?” Sephiroth asks as she sees Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Red, and herself standing at the end of the Midgar Expressway. Aerith watches her past self from just a few weeks ago lift her hand and cast a spell on the singularity that Sephiroth had created. She puts her head down.

“Why, Sephiroth?” She asks quietly.

“The Planet is dying.” He says and smiles at her.

“You don’t care about the Planet. You’re lying.”

“I am? You are the one that attempted to change something for yourself… Who else would that have benefited?”

“You don’t care about the Planet. You never did.” She clenches her fists tighter.

He chuckles, “You seem a bit angry. Perhaps I can show you something that will ease your burden… Give you closure.” He raises his hand again, “This scene, that you saw before…” Aerith looks up to see Zack facing what appears to be an entire army of Shinra soldiers, and then a flash to Zack leaning against his Buster Sword and panting, “He seemingly beat the entire army.”

Aerith watches, wide eyed, as Sephiroth’s continues to stand in front of her, showing her passing Zack and a man that looked just like Cloud.

“But was that really _all of them_?” He asks and grins at her.

She begins shaking her head, “Stop this…”

In the water walls, Aerith watches as Zack moves forward, hiking Cloud up every few feet. She hears him tell Cloud that they’re almost there. Coming from behind her, she hears people running and pivots, expecting to see her friends. It’s part of the vision – Shinra soldiers on the water wall behind her. She quickly turns back to where Zack is being shown and sees him quickly drop Cloud and turn to fight but is shot in the chest.

Aerith gasps and puts her hands over her mouth. A tear rolls down her cheek as she watches him fall to the ground and onto his back, gasping. One of the Shinra soldiers walks up and cocks his rifle, shooting Zack again. And again. And again. Every crack of the rifle sends shockwaves down Aerith’s entire body. She’s suddenly nauseous, numb, in shock. She watches as blood pools around him and stains his navy sleeveless sweater.

The Shinra soldiers laugh and walk away, spotting Cloud. _“What do you wanna do with this one?” “Just leave him, he’s as good as dead anyway. Mako junkie freak.”_

“Why are you doing this!?” Aerith shrieks at him, “What is the purpose!?”

Sephiroth sighs and laughs a bit, “To show you how much of a fool you’ve been.”

“By showing me false visions?” She asks, hoping that what she saw didn’t actually happen to her beloved.

“You have it wrong. You attempted to change the past and the future all at once, yet the Whispers still remain.” Sephiroth raises both hands and the water walls disappear, revealing Whispers circling them, “The Planet’s first line of defense. To ensure things go as planned.”

“But we…”

“You simply delayed things ever so slightly. Perhaps you’ll understand soon.” Sephiroth offers her one last smirk, pulls Masamune out of the ground and flies up again, disappearing from view. The Whispers disappear with him.

Once she is able to see the rest of the area again, she notices Zack is no longer there. She spins around a few times.

_“You must go now… Summon Holy… It is the only way…”_

The raw feelings from what she just saw are still there, but she takes a deep breath and leaves the room, heading towards the center structure in the Forgotten City. As she approaches, she continues to look around for Zack, but sees no sign of him. She faces the structure, pauses to take in the sight of it, and then enters.

Inside, she notices a crystal staircase leading down.

_“You must go now… Summon Holy… It is the only way…”_

Aerith begins to descend the staircase, leading to what appears to be the true Forgotten City, complete with residential housing. She’s awestruck by the simple beauty of it all. Protected all of this time from the outside world until now. She feels a heavy presence as she descends. Each step echoes throughout the abandoned city, seemingly getting louder as she approaches the bottom.

She stops once she reaches the bottom and looks around. It’s hauntingly quiet. An alter sits in the center of the city, over the water. Her eyes widen as she notices Zack standing there with his back to her. She clenches her fists as she approaches him.

He does not turn, even when she gets closer to him.

_“Summon Holy… It is the only way…”_

Aerith clasps her hands together, not taking her eyes off of Zack.

***

Cloud and Tifa are ahead of the rest as they enter the Forgotten City. A sense of urgency overwhelms them as soon as they get close. Their footsteps echo throughout the shell of a city. They stop at the crossroads, turning to look towards the others as they catch up. Red and Vincent aren’t too far behind. Cait Sith and Yuffie trail them by a bit. Cid and Barret are well behind the group, looking like they’re trying to catch their breath as quickly as they can.

“Where to?” Red asks and looks around. Cloud turns towards the large structure in the center of the city. Tifa looks at him and worries her bottom lip. Red looks up at her and then back down again.

“Cloud, are you feeling okay?” She asks him softly.

Cloud looks over at her, “Yeah… I am, Tifa.” He offers her a tiny smile and begins walking towards the large structure. Barret and Cid look at each other and frown. Cloud seems somewhat rigid in the way he’s approaching the place. Tifa stays close to him, ready to grab him if something happens. In the back of her mind, she’s scared that Vincent or Barret will react too rashly, particularly Barret.

As they enter the structure, the see the crystal staircase leading down. Tifa takes off. Cloud gasps, “Tifa!” He begins to run as well and hears the rest following him down. Tifa is already close to the bottom when she freezes, staring ahead. Once Cloud catches up to her, his eyes follow where she’s staring and notices Aerith standing in the center of an alter and praying.

Tifa turns to him and opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted by the Whispers flying in and blocking the rest of their friends from exiting the staircase. Cloud spins around and tries to cut through them, but there’s too many.

“Shit!” He hisses and looks at Tifa, who is still wide eyed and looks over at Aerith and back at the Whispers. They can hear Cid and Barret cussing at the things and attempting to fight their way through.

_“Go to her.”_ Cloud’s eyes widen, _“Go to her.”_ His feet begin moving on their own and he shuffles forward. His shoulders are slumped a bit. Tifa runs in front of him and puts her hands up. She sees his eyes change to cat-like slits. He has no expression on his face.

“Cloud…” She says gently, hoping to coax him out of the trance. He stares at her for a moment. A Whisper flies in and pushes her away from him. He continues forward as she picks herself up. This time, she grabs his left arm, “Cloud, please!” She yells with more urgency.

_“Stop her.”_ Cloud slightly nods. _“Stop her.”_

“Cloud!” Tifa tries to plant her feet into the ground, but he continues to move forward, seemingly not even feeling her clutching his arm. She can hear Barret yelling her name, but ignores it, focused fully on Cloud. For a moment, she looks over and sees that Zack is standing with his back to Aerith, looking out at the body of water that surrounded the alter.

Another Whisper comes in and knocks Tifa’s grip from Cloud’s arm, who begins to move a bit faster now. The Whispers are now actively slowing her down. Aerith notices him approaching her and offers a gentle smile in his direction. It does not change his stance or speed. Tifa throws a few punches and gets past the Whispers.

“Cloud! Stop!” Tifa screams and runs towards him again, pushing Whispers out of her way.

Aerith’s eyes are locked on Cloud. Her lips are moving slightly, as if she’s whispering a silent prayer. Cloud slows down and stops for a moment, his eyes locked on her and the man behind her. Tifa slows down as well, watching to see if Aerith was able to stop him. Cloud reaches up and grabs his sword and holds it lazily to his right side. He begins a slow approach towards her again. He lifts the sword above his head and prepares to slam it down on Aerith.

“CLOUD! STOP!” Tifa screams with everything she’s got. She sees him freeze and his face softens. He drops the sword behind him, and it hits the ground with a loud clank. Breathing heavily, he looks down at his hands. Tifa approaches him and gently places her hands on his arm. She then looks over at Aerith, who looks somewhat relieved and gives her a warm smile. Zack begins to turn around slowly.

Tifa tenses, waiting for Cloud’s reaction to seeing Zack, but he looks more confused than anything.

“How am I…?” He asks softly. Tifa looks over and still sees Zack. Cloud shakes his head a few times, “How am I standing there?” Tifa’s eyes widen and she doesn’t know how to answer him. Cloud’s eyes widen and he gasps as he sees the person standing behind Aerith flash between a form of Sephiroth and himself.

Tifa sees this as well, but with Zack seemingly changing into Sephiroth. She gasps and her voice fails her.

“No!” Cloud yells, “Aerith!”

The figure turns completely into Sephiroth. Aerith looks up at them and opens her mouth to speak. The sound of flashing steel echoes through the air as he sends the six-foot blade through Aerith’s back, letting it rest on the ground in front of her.

_“Please, don’t hurt my son! I beg you!”_

Tifa runs towards Aerith and Cloud grabs her arm without thinking.

_“Cloud, run!”_

Cloud can see blood dripping down from Aerith’s abdomen to the tip of the sword and pool on the ground. He can feel Tifa fighting to be released from his grip.

_“Mom… Mom…”_

“Aerith!!!” Yuffie screams as she runs full speed towards them and stops in her tracks behind Cloud. Sephiroth is smiling as he stares at Cloud. Tifa breaks free of Cloud’s grip and runs to her best friend.

“No, no, no…” Tifa says, tears already flowing. Sephiroth slowly begins to pull the blade out of her. As she begins to fall forward, he reaches up and slightly pulls on her pink ribbon, causing it to come undone and fall to the ground. A single orb of Materia falls and clanks against the stone floor of the alter a few times before falling into the water below.

Tifa catches Aerith as she falls, gasping and gulping. Blood is appearing in her mouth and slowly dripping out of the left corner. She manages a weak smile to Tifa. Cloud is right next to her, sword drawn towards Sephiroth.

“T-Tifa…” Aerith says softly, “I’m… so glad… I met you… and Cloud… too…. All of you…”

Tifa looks at her and shakes her head, “Aerith, no, no… We… we still have to go shopping… look at the stars…” She sobs, “You’re… You’ll be okay… You have to be…”

The other party members are frozen. Vincent and Barret are pointing their guns towards Sephiroth. Tifa starts rocking a bit while holding Aerith in her lap. Aerith is still smiling at her gently, “It’ll be… okay. Don’t worry… Tifa...”

“No, Aerith, please. Hang on… we,” Tifa chokes back a sob, “We can heal you, right?” Aerith smiles at her and reaches up to touch her face. She slowly closes her eyes and a single tear comes down her cheek. Aerith’s hand slips down her face and falls to her side. Tifa feels her breathing get slower, “No!” She chokes out. She hugs her, “Please! Don’t we have anything?! Do something!!!”

Cid and Barret look down. Yuffie slowly walks over and leans down next to Tifa, tears streaming down her face. Vincent, Red, and Cait Sith slowly approach, but stop, feeling as if they’re intruding.

Aerith’s breathing stops. Tifa grips her tighter, “Please don’t…” The tears are coming faster now. Yuffie places her hand on Aerith’s face and uses her thumb to wipe some of the blood away from the corner of her mouth. Her breath shudders as more tears fall. Tifa grips Aerith tighter, rocking back and forth still. She’s trying to commit to memory what she feels like when she’s warm, the faint smell of flowers that she always seems to have no matter what they’ve been through, the softness of her hair. Things she wished she could have done before her mother died. Things she wished she could have done when she found her father lying lifeless in the Nibel reactor.

Cloud stands close to Tifa, still focused on Sephiroth and feeling his emotions swell.

“How touching.” Sephiroth begins laughing, “Perhaps she was right about one thing… She will get to see him again.”

“Shut up!” Cloud’s voice cracks and grits his teeth.

“Oh, Cloud…” Sephiroth smirks, “Don’t pretend that you’re sad. For that matter, don’t pretend that you’re happy either…” He throws the Black Materia at his chest, causing him to fall back a bit. He flies up and disappears. _“Because Cloud… You are a…”_

Cloud hears a loud noise behind him. He spins around and sees that Sephiroth must have called Jenova to take care of the rest. Cait Sith looks at Cloud, “We’ll handle this!”

Yuffie stands up abruptly and roughly wipes the tears from her cheeks, “No way am I letting them do this fight without me!” She turns and runs towards the rest, who have started fighting already.

Tifa is fixed in her place, clinging on to Aerith. Cloud slowly leans down next to her and puts his hand on her shoulder, “Tifa…” His voice cracks. His eyes are burning, his mouth is dry.

“She’s gone, Cloud…” She says quietly, “Just like… everything else… She’s gone now too…” Cloud closes his eyes and swallows hard, trying to suppress the swelling emotions.

He hears the fighting behind them but knows he can’t leave Tifa alone with Aerith.

_“…Puppet.”_ Cloud gasps and looks over to see Jenova slowly dissipate. He looks down when he hears Tifa also gasp and watches as Aerith slowly dissipate into a green stream of light.

“What?!” Tifa gasps and feels her disappear before her eyes, “Where?! How!?”

Red slowly approaches, “She has… returned to the Planet. Perhaps because she is an Ancient… she can return faster…” He says solemnly.

Tifa looks down at herself, missing the last remaining warmth from Aerith’s body and sees the blood on her arms, shirt, and abdomen. She turns to Cloud, face streaked with sweat and tears and falls into him. He brings both arms up and gently pulls her closer to him as she breaks down again. Tifa thinks to herself…

_“Aerith gave one last smile before she left us all… I wonder what she saw…”_

***

_“Everything feels so… light…” Aerith thinks to herself. She can hear distant sobbing and pleas from her dear friend, Tifa. She can feel the tears coming, “Am I alone now?” Something above her catches her eye. A smiling man with black hair and white wings comes down towards her, his eyes glistening with tears. He reaches his hand out towards her. Aerith smiles and feels tears roll down towards her ears. She stretches her arm up towards him and feels him take hers gently._

_She begins to float up with him, towards the sky._

_“See? The sky isn’t so bad…” Zack smiles at her gently. He pulls her closer into an embrace, “I’m sorry… I’m sorry about everything…”_

_Aerith shakes her head in his chest, “I know now… I know what happened, Zack… It’s alright…” He pulls her even closer and nuzzles the top of her head. There’s so much comfort in his embrace… She feels like they’re becoming one entity as he slowly brings her up towards the sky._

***

Vincent stands outside of one of the abandoned ancient homes in the Forgotten City. The cold wind whips around him as he looks out at the silent, dark city. He begins to walk away slowly towards the central structure again, remembering there was another structure behind the lake that they didn’t enter. He looks down at the white box he is holding.

_“I think I will place it there…”_

***

Yuffie is sleeping in the fetal position in one of the beds in the abandoned house. Red sleeps on the floor next to the bed, as if he’s guarding her from anything that may come her way. Cait Sith has his head and ears down, in a constant state of mourning, it seems. Barret and Cid sit in front of the fireplace, seemingly entranced by the flickering flames. Cloud sees that Tifa has fallen asleep in another bed within the room Yuffie is in and looks at her for a few moments before turning to leave.

Tifa’s clothes are drying near the fireplace, after being scrubbed of as much of Aerith’s blood as they could get out. Tifa was frantic after they finally left the alter, walking out into the nearby lake and pulling the white tank top off, not caring who saw her. She began scrubbing as she sobbed, until she could barely make out the stains. Cloud finally had to follow her into the lake and gently coax her out, quietly promising her that they’d buy her new clothes as soon as they could.

“You should stay with her, Cloud.” Vincent must be back from his walk. Cloud nods at Vincent, “I think she will need the comfort.” Vincent walks away to join Cid and Barret at the fireplace.

Cloud sighs a bit and sits on the edge of the bed, feeling strange about just laying down next to her without permission. He hears her stir and turn towards him. He looks back and catches her open her eyes at him. Clutched in one of her hands is Aerith’s pink ribbon. She doesn’t smile or change her expression, but holds her hand out towards him, “Please… Stay here.” He nods and lays down. She immediately burrows herself into his chest and falls back to sleep.

***

The next morning, Tifa wakes up, still burrowed into Cloud’s chest and slowly moves away from him, sitting up and looking around the room. She’s hoping she had a bad dream, but deep down, knows that’s not the case… She knows she doesn’t have her normal shirt on, but an extra one of Yuffie’s, she knows that Yuffie is sleeping solo in the bed, and she knows that she is still clutching Aerith’s ribbon in her hand.

Aerith is gone. She suppresses the resurgence of emotions from the previous day. Cloud beings to stir and looks at her. Tifa can tell the strain this has put on him, but he’d never admit it. She herself is actively trying to hide any sign that she couldn’t handle this. She must stay strong and continue to fight. For Nibelheim, for her father, for Claudia Strife, for Cloud, for Jessie and Biggs, and for all of the people who have lost their lives because of Shinra.

Cloud slowly sits up and keeps his eyes on her, “Hey…” He says gently.

“Hey.” She replies, somewhat drying, forcing a weak smile.

Barret enters the room and softens his expression when he sees Tifa, “Hey girl… How ya holding up…?”

“I’m okay.” She says, unconvincingly. Cloud looks over at Barret for a moment before landing his stare back on Tifa. Barret shakes his head.

“How about you?” He gestures to Cloud.

Cloud stands up and looks at them, “I don’t even know anymore.” This surprises Tifa and she looks up at him, “I don’t even know what’s going on… All I know is… We need to get Sephiroth. We have to beat him.”

Barret and Tifa nod.

“Do you know where he could be?” Tifa asks.

Cloud gets a quick flash and grabs his head, “North. He’s heading North…”

***

Tseng slowly sits down at his desk, still feeling a bit of the pain from his altercation at the Temple of the Ancients. He doesn’t know how he’s alive. Sighing, he looks at the stack of papers on his desk and begins thumbing through them. He hears a knock on the door and sits up as straight as he can. Rufus enters, looking somewhat solemn. Tseng begins to stand.

“Please.” Rufus shuts the door quietly behind him, “Stay seated.”

Tseng slowly sits back in his chair, “Sir? Is everything alright?”

Rufus walks to the front of Tseng’s desk and takes a seat in a chair across from him, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m much better, sir… Thank you.” Tseng smiles a bit.

“I was surprised to hear you were out of the infirmary so quickly.”

Tseng lets out a slight chuckle, “We do have one of the best in the world here.”

Rufus grunts a reply and then leans forward, “Hojo is coming at noon today to discuss the Reunion Theory.” Tseng blinks a few times and his eyebrows knit together. Rufus continues, “Reno and Rude informed me of the incident at the Temple of the Ancients and Zack Fair showing up there.”

Tseng nods, “Yes… Reeve informed us that he saw Fair show up there.”

“Right…” Rufus stands, “I don’t believe it was actually him. I think he’s dead. I called Hojo because I believe that the rumors regarding the Reunion Theory may hold some water… even if they were developed by a half rate scientist such as Hojo.”

Tseng nods in agreement and smiles, “Would you like me to attend the meeting as well?”

“No need… I’ll fill you in once it’s over. I need you to rest more than anything…” Rufus clears his throat, “There is one other matter…” Tseng looks at him, a bit surprised in the shift in his tone, “The Ancient… was killed yesterday by Sephiroth.”

Tseng stares at Rufus for a few moments before leaning back into his chair and letting out a long sigh.

“I am sorry.” Rufus gives him a slight look of sympathy, “Please… if you need to take a few days…”

Tseng shakes his head, “No, it’s fine. It was only a matter of time before she put herself in a situation that…” He clears his throat, “That I wouldn’t be able to save her from.” Rufus looks at him and nods before leaving.

Tseng swivels his chair and opens his desk drawer, revealing a small box. Inside were letters addressed to Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class.

_“I’m sorry he never got to read your letters, Aerith. I suppose… now you can tell him yourself…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was hard to write... Tifa is going to kill me when this actually happens in Remake.


	13. It Will Have to Do, Until the Real Thing Comes Along

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snow. Ice. Railings. 
> 
> There is food in this chapter. Yes, that kind of food. No, nothing over a T rating. I don't think... 
> 
> Yuffie sighs in relief, “Good. I’m starving!”  
> Cid laughs, “Kid, you’re always hungry. Surprised you ain’t 300 pounds.”  
> Yuffie rolls her eyes, “I’m a growing girl, pops!” She punches the air swiftly a few times, “Gotta keep my protein intake up.”  
> ***  
> She swallows, still trying to catch her breath, “Why are you sorry?”  
> ***  
> Cid rolls his eyes, “How many different drugs do you need to put in a blender and shove up your ass to come up with this shit?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I'm REALLY SORRY it took me this long to update. The kids started school again and they're actually going in this district. Work got crazy - really crazy. Hello, year end. I started drawing and that took up a lot of my time. 
> 
> I also got stuck a lot on this chapter. I think I took stuff out and put it back a number of times. 
> 
> And here is my fluff. I never thought this thing would get noticed much. Your comments, your kudos, everything means a lot to me. When I came in here to add this chapter, a part of me got a bit overwhelmed at how many people have interacted with this thing. I read all of your comments and try to reply to all of them too. Getting an emotional response out of me is somewhat difficult, but you guys seem to be able to do it. 
> 
> That's probably what motivated me to already start Chapter 14. Plus, Chapter 14 is the Northern Crater, which is one of my favorite scenes in the OG. The thing is already outlined. Hopefully it's up this week. From here on out, I'm going to try and schedule time to write each night. The rest of this gets intense anyway - we're into the most insane part of the story from the Northern Crater on.
> 
> Also, I didn't read this over as many times as I usually do so... Sorry if something is weird.
> 
> Follow me on Twitter! @iaintyourbrah  
> Or Tumblr: @iaintyourbro
> 
> Enjoy!

Cloud squints against the onslaught of snow pummeling his face. The blonde spikes that had escaped from the safety of his hood were drenched and heavy against his face. The one thing that can overtake the gravity defying spikes, it seems. He can vaguely make out the sound of snow crunching under his boots, a sound that is familiar yet so far away.

Barret is to Cloud’s left mumbling some sort of chant and walking rigidly. Cait Sith and Red had made an agreement that Cait could ride on Red’s back to prevent the annoying sound of the Mog. Cloud notes that it appears Red is having a hard time dealing with all of this, having to stop often to shake his fur out and rid himself of the accumulating ice and snow. Vincent seems mostly indifferent towards the harsh conditions and has Yuffie following closely behind him, using him as a shield from the wind. Cid is mumbling expletives to himself as he turns in multiple directions, trying to light a cigarette against the wind. Tifa was walking closely to Cloud’s right side, head down to avoid the onslaught of snow and ice and hugging herself tightly.

Cloud looks over at her, “Tifa… you okay?” He asks gently.

Tifa’s head snaps up and she looks at him, “Yeah, just hoping we get there soon…”

Yuffie begins digging in her pockets, searching for something. She pulls out 20 Gil and goes to hand it to… and freezes. Her eyes widen a bit and she quietly gasps. Everyone goes silent. Red and Cid frown and look down while Barret’s mouth opens for a moment before it slowly closes, along with his eyes. He looks away from everyone and starts walking away, followed by Vincent. Cait Sith’s ears are down and his shoulders slumped as he walks past Cloud and Tifa.

“What’s… going on?” Cloud looks at all of them and puts a hand on his hip.

Yuffie looks away from him, “Nothing.” She croaks out, “Just… we should keep going.” She briskly walks away and catches up with the others.

Cloud and Tifa exchange confused glances before following her.

***

After a while more of walking, they came upon a small wooded area, which should at least give them some shelter against the wind. Deciding silently to stop there briefly to get their wits about them, Cid sighs in relief loudly as he finally gets his lighter to spark and light his desperately needed smoke.

“Hey, man…” Barret clears his throat, “Don’t know what the plan is, but I don’t see nothin’ ahead and it’s gonna get dark soon.”

Cloud pulls out his map and studies it. Icicle Village shouldn’t be much further – maybe a mile at most. A mile that would feel like ten with the weather conditions. He folds the map up and looks at Barret, “We’ve got about another mile.”

Yuffie groans while standing near Red’s tail, “We need better clothes…”

“Speak for yourself.” Cait Sith says.

“You don’t even _wear_ clothes!” Yuffie barks back, “Weirdo.” Cait Sith puts his fists up and jumps around a bit before Red sighs.

“The humans in the group may need better clothing for this…” Red trails off a bit as he watches Vincent place a pile of brush in a dry area on the ground. He walks over and holds his tail over it, lighting it, hoping it warms up his friends, even just a bit. They all naturally gravitate towards the fire, alternating between holding their hands out and rubbing them together.

Cloud found himself staying close to Tifa during all of this. Watching her, constantly on alert with every enemy that they ran in to. His anxiety was skyrocketing every time she moved away from him, thoughts of what if going through his head. What if I do something to hurt her? What if something happens to her? What if she had been there instead of Aerith? The last question made his stomach turn and a shock go through his head.

_Flashes of the Nibel Reactor. Steel. Slashing. Screaming. Tifa is hurt. There’s blood._

_“You’ve failed again…”_

Tifa gasps and jumps at Cloud suddenly grunting and grabbing his head, stumbling around. She gently places her hands on his right arm to steady him, “Cloud…” She whispers gently.

Cid shakes his head, “What the hell with these headaches? He always been like this?”

Barret frowns, “Not sure what causes ‘em… but he’s had them since I met him.” Red frowns and puts his head down.

Cloud snaps out of it and slowly opens his eyes, immediately softening as he sees deep carmine pools staring back at him, full of concern. “Sorry… I’m fine…” He forces out before straightening himself up and shaking his head a few times. He offers a small smile to Tifa and then looks down.

“Cloud, maybe we should rest?” Tifa leans down a bit to try and catch his eyes.

Cloud frowns and looks at her, “It’s alright… we’re almost there. It’ll be safer to stay indoors in this type of weather…”

Red looks over at them, “I think we will need to move soon. It could be dangerous to travel in these conditions in the dark.”

“We also do not have the appropriate type of equipment to deal with sleeping outside in this weather. Aside from clothing, we should pick up a few extreme weather rated tents in Icicle Village before we continue forward in case we run into a situation where we’ll need them.” Vincent offers.

“There’s a nice Inn there too. Think they got a restaurant if I remember right.” Cid says as he continues rubbing his hands over the fire. 

Cloud grunts and nods his agreement. Yuffie sighs in relief, “Good. I’m _starving_!”

Cid laughs, “Kid, you’re always hungry. Surprised you ain’t 300 pounds.”

Yuffie rolls her eyes, “I’m a growing girl, pops!” She punches the air swiftly a few times, “Gotta keep my protein intake up.”

Tifa smiles slightly and looks at the group and then the Cloud, “A hot shower sounds really nice after being out in this weather all day…”

Cloud stares back at her and swallows a bit hard, wondering why the hell this is eliciting such a reaction from him. This isn’t the first time she’s mentioned showering. She mentions it often, in fact, especially during long bouts of fighting. He’s really glad he’s standing close to the fire at this point, hoping that it hides the deepening blush on his cheeks.

***

The party leaves shortly after the fire began to die out. The snow had let up a bit, but the wind was still blowing fiercely. The wind was a startling reminder that the coats were helping but weren’t the best at this point. Yuffie was hopping along in an attempt to keep her legs warm, which were turning bright red from the constant onslaught of cold wind. Red and Cait walk along side of her, hoping to give her some warmth. Tifa’s thigh highs were helping, but they also weren’t designed for this type of weather.

A chorus of relieved sighs came out as they saw the village appear in view. As they enter the village, Tifa can’t help but smile a bit at how cute and cozy the place is. Small little homes with smoke slowly rising from their chimneys, kids playing in the snow building snow men and throwing snowballs at each other, and a decent sized Inn. Hopefully with decent dining options, like Cid had suggested earlier. When they open the doors to the Inn, they’re greeted warmly by an older couple, presumably the Innkeepers.

“What can I do for ya?” The man smiles warmly at them.

“Two rooms, please.” Cloud simply replies.

“Ah, how many do ya have here? Want to make sure there’s enough beds.” The man scans the group.

“Uh…” Cloud turns to look at the group, “Eight…” Tifa looks down for a moment and takes a deep breath before looking up again and smiling at the Innkeeper. Cloud stares at her until the Innkeeper catches his attention again.

“I think we can do that…” The man writes a few things down, “One room has four beds and the other three. There’s also a pull-out couch in each!” Cloud nods and hands the man 1,000 Gil to cover the costs. The man smiles, “Please enjoy your stay! We have a restaurant and bar down the hall – can’t beat it!”

***

Rufus stares at Hojo with a mix of disgust, frustration, and fascination. They had now been sitting in his office for five hours discussing the Reunion Theory. Hojo was mumbling non-sense half the time, speculating on what may happen in certain cases. Rufus eventually called Rude and Reno to come in as well, still worried about Tseng’s condition. The two Turks agreed to deal with Hojo for their boss, but they weren’t happy about it.

Reno was randomly flicking small pieces of paper in Hojo’s direction, causing him to swat at his face and shoulders, but not questioning where it was coming from. Rude would shoot death glares in Reno’s direction. Rufus didn’t seem to mind. Perhaps it was entertaining him a bit, since Hojo was dreadfully boring at times.

“So, after all this, you don’t know.” Rufus simply states.

“Well… The only way to confirm the hypothesis is to actually go to where the Remnants are gathering. I’ve heard from the Nibelheim Village management that there has been quite a bit of fascinating activity with the ones in their town.” Hojo clasps his hands, “Now that the Black Materia is out of the Temple of the Ancients, it is only a matter of time before any of the specimens make their way to where they are being called… Or so the theory says.”

Rude grits his teeth and looks over at Rufus, who is staying mostly stoic towards Hojo, “And where are they?”

“Rumors have been circulating that they are all heading north.” Hojo clears his throat, “That’s not to say that they simply could be wandering aimlessly…”

Rufus sighs and stands up, turning his back to Hojo and walking towards his window, “If we go north, will it tell us anything?”

Hojo bobs his head a few times, “Hmmm… I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.”

“Fine. We will head there tomorrow to see if… your theory… is correct.” Rufus turns back just in time to see Reno flicking another piece of paper and it hitting Hojo in the side of his face. Hojo simply brushes his face again and Reno holds back a snicker, “In the meantime, we have arranged accommodations for you at the Shinra Hotel nearby.”

Hojo laughs a bit, “Sir, if I may… I would like to go to my lab—”

“If you need something out of the Research and Development Lab, then I can have an escort go with you.” Rufus snaps at him, “However, you are retired from this company, and therefore no longer an employee. You are not authorized to enter the Research and Development floor without supervision.”

Hojo grumbles a bit, “Fine… Which one of these two imbeciles will _escort_ me?”

Reno and Rude snap their heads towards Rufus, silently begging not to be chosen. Rufus smirks, “The Turks have better things to do. We have members of security that will assist you.”

Hojo stands and sighs, “After all the years of service I put into this place, this is how you treat me.”

Rufus smirks and huffs in amusement, “I think our opinions on what service you’ve done for this company may differ. I have other matters to attend to at this time.” Rufus looks at Rude and Reno who stand and close in on Hojo.

Hojo puts his hands up, “I’m leaving, no need to sic your dogs on me.” Hojo turns to leave, mumbling unintelligible things, and Rufus smiles at the image of Darkstar using Hojo as a chew toy.

***

Dinner was mostly quiet, save Barret and Cid trying to cheer the team up a bit. Cloud felt like every time he closed his eyes, he could see Sephiroth standing behind Aerith, smiling, and plunging his sword right through her. The worst part about this was... it could have been him stabbing her if he hadn’t been stopped.

Shaking his head after a shower that was mostly with cold water, thanks to Barret and Cid taking their sweet time in their own showers, Cloud fixes his hair a bit and leaves the bathroom, wearing a basic white tee and navy blue sweatpants. Yuffie is sitting on one of the chairs eating some sort of snack and watching television with the others. Expecting to see Tifa in the room as well, he scans the beds, only to see the men in the party lounging.

“Yuffie, where’s Tifa?” Cloud asks and walks a bit towards her.

Yuffie looks down at her snack bag and swallows before answering, “Uh, she, uh… Wanted to go for a walk…”

Cloud crosses his arms, “Where?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t say.” Yuffie says somewhat meekly, “She wanted to be… She didn’t want me to go with her… I asked…”

Cloud sighs, “Did she leave the Inn?”

“I told you I don’t know!” Yuffie snaps and stares at him. Cloud begins to advance towards her and opens his mouth but stops when he hears Barret let out a heavy sigh.

Barret frowns and sits forward on the bed, “Hey guys… We’ve had some bad times recently. I know that. But we can’t be fighting with each other. We gotta stick together during all this. We all are sad. We all are hurtin’. And we all deal with that hurt differently.” Cloud and Yuffie look down as Barret continues, “I’ve said it before… There ain’t no getting’ offa this train we’re on. We gotta go get that son of a bitch. Got a lot of reasons for it. All of us do.” Barret looks directly at Cloud this time, “I know you’re worried about Tifa. I get it man, so am I… But you know how she is. She’s gonna pretend she’s fine.”

Cloud chews on his cheek a bit, thinking of past incidents when Tifa would react irrationally after a bad event. His vision starts to go fuzzy and the pain slams him, causing him to bring both hands up and grip his head tightly.

_Tifa walking up a dirt pathway… young… in a white dress…_

_Tifa picking up a large sword in a reactor…_

Red nudges Cloud’s leg, causing him to snap out of it. Cloud shakes his head and takes a breath, “I’ll… I’ll be back.” He stumbles a bit as he turns and begins putting his boots, harness, coat, and gloves on. Tifa had left on her own, and anything could happen to her now. His heart rate increases as the possibilities go through his head. Without saying another word, he attaches his sword to his back and leaves.

When they hear the door slam, Barret rubs his hand down his face and sighs, “That girl does shit sometimes that I don’t get…”

“Huh?” Yuffie looks up and cocks an eyebrow, “She said she just wanted time to think by herself.”

“Yeah, but she went out on her own, in an unfamiliar territory, in shit weather.” Barret frowns and sighs before adding, “And while not thinkin’ straight…”

“Cloud will find her.” Red states and looks towards the door, “They always seem to find each other.”

***

Tifa leans over the overlook’s railing, looking down over the quiet village, just making out the silhouette of the various buildings bathed in moonlight. Smoke still slowly rising from the chimneys. She takes a deep breath, swallowing the ever-growing lump in her throat that hasn’t left since the Forgotten City. They had to keep moving, there was no time to mourn. Just like everything else, she needed to push it down – maybe there would be time later.

Thoughts of Cloud were also filling her mind. Something wasn’t right, and this was getting more and more clear the further they went on this journey. He also became more agitated and anxious. The headaches were increasing, the strange behavior, and the odd blank staring at nothing. Attempting to hurt Aerith… Tifa begins to wring her hands as she looks down at them. Yes, something wasn’t right with Cloud, but that didn’t seem to stop this torrent of emotions she started to have towards him. This realization scared her, more than anything. Maybe they weren’t new – maybe they were just being woken up, made stronger with every passing day.

She still hadn’t built up enough courage to ask him about the story he told in Kalm – even though Aerith encouraged her to. Aerith would have been able to ask him. She didn’t hold back. Ever. Tifa wasn’t like Aerith. She wasn’t forward or bold with her words. The lump swells more, actually causing pain as she forces herself to suppress it.

Her thoughts are jumbled. She’s confused and scared. Aerith is gone, who she could confide in, who gave her a bit of a boost in confidence to say and do things she normally wouldn’t do. Yuffie was too young and Barret was too protective. Tifa smiles weakly to herself, wondering if Aerith knew of her locked away feelings for Cloud. Maybe that’s why there always seemed to only be one bed available on multiple occasions during their journey.

_“I know!” Aerith piped up, “These beds are a little bigger than what we had before, so why don’t Yuffie and I take a bed, Barret and Red take a bed, and Cloud and Tifa!”_

Tifa feels a single tear roll down her cheek as she smiles at the memory during their stay in Junon. She suddenly lets out a sharp, uncontrollable sob, feeling the cold air hit her lungs as she inhales and a few more tears escape. She lets out a shaky sigh as she works harder to suppress it, gripping the cold railing until her gloveless knuckles turn white and her hands sting from the frozen steel.

She feels a hand gently fall on her right shoulder and freezes, “Tifa…”

Cloud. His voice is so gentle, so full of concern, but there is an edge to it. Tifa was so focused on her thoughts she didn’t even hear him approaching from behind. Mentally, she smacks herself knowing she put herself in a vulnerable position. She also doesn’t have her gloves with her nor a single Materia. She quickly turns her head away from him, attempting to hide the evidence of her crying, but feels him gently place his finger on the opposite side of her jaw to coax her towards him.

Tifa is taken by surprise at this. Slowly, she allows him to turn her face, but averts her eyes. She knows they must be red and watery still, even if she did succeed in getting rid of most of the evidence. Cloud strokes his thumb over her cheek causing her to look in his eyes, surprised at the sudden show of unprovoked affection, “Tifa, you don’t even have your gloves with you.” He says gently, his voice just above a whisper, “You don’t know what’s out here. It could have been dangerous…”

Cloud was going to reprimand her. He was going to sternly tell her that she shouldn’t be out here without anyone or anything to protect herself. Yes, Tifa was strong, but she was still a human. Finding her crying and broken shattered him. Tifa looks up at him, unsure of what to say or do. Instead of responding, she simply drops her head to his chest and slides her arms up towards his shoulders. She hears Cloud’s breath hitch, and she wonders for a moment if they’ll have a repeat of the incident in Aerith’s garden. This time, he knows what to do. He takes his sword off his back and stabs it into the ground next to him and then wraps his arms around her.

Cloud drops his head into the crook of her neck, “Tifa… More than anyone else… I can’t lose you.” He whispers and tightens his hold on her.

Tifa’s heart is pounding in her chest as if it’s trying to escape and she knows he can feel it, maybe even hear it. This is a new emotion, a new lump forming in her throat for just a moment. New tears, for a different reason. Tifa slowly slides her hands up and loosely puts her arms around his neck, turning towards his ear, “I can’t lose you either.” She whispers.

Cloud tenses for a moment at Tifa’s statement, something is awakening deep within him. He has a sudden surge of emotions, specifically towards the woman in his arms. Cloud turns his head a bit towards her, his nose lightly brushing against her cheek. Tifa lifts her head a bit and locks eyes with him. Their faces are as close as they were when they rolled off the train together on the way to the Sector 5 Reactor. Maybe even closer. It feels so long ago now. The energy is different, more charged, more palpable. The tension that has been building between them since they were reunited in Midgar is now at its breaking point.

Maybe it’s all of the heartbreak and chaos over the last few weeks that has brought them here. Two broken souls, looking for comfort. This feels like home, it feels right for both of them. Cloud holding Tifa. Tifa parts her lips slightly and notices Cloud’s eyes glance at them and back up to her eyes. He thinks back to the play. This is different. This isn’t the play – this is just them.

_“Why not?”_

In a sudden moment of boldness, Cloud leans in and captures her lips in a gentle kiss. At first, Tifa’s eyes are wide with shock, but she quickly begins kissing him back and allows her eyes to fall shut. He kisses her gently, shyly in a sense, but it sends shockwaves throughout both. When he pulls back slowly, the realization hits him that this just happened. Not because they had to for a play, but because he _wanted_ to. He wanted to so badly, as if it’d been a hidden desire for his entire life. Tifa looks at him, wide eyed. This makes Cloud feel a bit anxious, “S-Sorry… I—”

This time, Tifa takes him by surprise by crashing her lips to his and grasping the back of his head, running her fingers through his – surprisingly – soft hair and digging her nails into his scalp. This elicits a moan from him, much to Tifa’s delight. He slides one of his hands from her waist up to her cheek and then slides it to the back of her head, pulling her even closer. Cloud teases her lips with his tongue. Tifa immediately responds by parting her lips and pulls herself impossibly closer to him.

Cloud is in total shock at this point. He’s pretty sure his heart is going to explode, and his stomach is going to irreparably twist itself into knots. He is kissing Tifa Lockhart. Tifa, who every man in Sector 7 wanted and dreamt of just _living_ next to her, let alone having her tongue dancing with theirs. His thoughts are swimming – he’s not even sure where he is. A part of him wants her to slap him so he knows this is real, that he’s not dreaming. He would also settle for her to bite him, but he quickly attempts to squelch these more intense thoughts, fearing she’d end this moment out of disgust. Would she? He decides… he doesn’t know.

Tifa’s sense of logic is gone. Her legs feel weak and she fears they would have given out on her already if Cloud didn’t have her held so closely to him. The pain she felt just minutes ago has dulled significantly. Warmth spreads throughout her body. Sad tears were replaced with ones of joy and longing. Oxygen becomes a problem, and the two of them break, with a gasp, keeping their eyes closed for a few more moments.

Tifa opens her eyes to meet his and smiles at him, her eyes dark, her lips clearly swollen. She swallows, still trying to catch her breath, “Why are you sorry?”

Cloud is still breathing somewhat heavy. He closes his eyes and smiles slightly, enjoying her teasing at this moment and shakes his head. His fears of her thinking this is repulsive or wrong are swept away with her playfulness. Once he feels he’s sufficiently replenished of oxygen, he closes the distance again, each kiss getting deeper and more desperate, as if they’re trying to convey so many words and feelings through all of it. Neither had ever full on made out with anybody before, but here they are, in a romantic spot, doing just that while bathed in moonlight.

Cloud suddenly turns her towards the railing, causing her to yelp and look at him. He gives her a smirk and reassuring look as he lifts her to sit on the railing. She wraps her legs around him and tightens her hold on his neck. Their lips meet again. Cloud’s fingers are digging into her hips. She gasps when the cold metal hits her thigh, right below her shorts. Her skirt has moved up quite a bit.

When Cloud breaks the kiss to ask her if she’s okay, responding to her sudden gasp, she rolls her hips over him. His jaw slackens a bit, and a low moan escapes him. This also causes his eyes to slightly roll back. _“Stupid coat…”_ She thinks to herself but is pleased she gets such a reaction.

Cloud begins kissing her again and then grinds into her as payback, causing her to moan into his mouth. His brain momentarily has to reboot, which causes him to pull back and look at her, chest heaving, “Tifa…” He whispers.

Tifa bites her bottom lip and gives him a look of pure desire and want. This causes something primal to awaken within him and he growls, reclaiming her swollen, soft lips again. Cloud decides he wants to kiss other parts too. He moves to the corner of her mouth, then to her cheek, to her jaw line, and then lands on her neck, which causes her to let out a breathy moan across his ear. Cloud’s brain does a reboot again, for the, well, he’s lost count. He’s not even sure how his brain keeps coming back up in any capacity at this point. He’s not even sure what he’s thinking right now.

This is escalating quickly. Tifa wonders if Aerith would be proud of her.

Aerith.

Tifa begins to shake her head, “I’m sorry… This is… I’m…”

Cloud looks at her, confused, “What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no, it’s just… This is wrong…” Tifa, still out of breath, feels the guilt begin to surface again, “We’re… we’re doing this and…”

Cloud frowns. He gets it. Gets what she’s saying. They’re here enjoying themselves – probably more than he ever imagined he could enjoy something – and not even two days ago they lost their friend. Giving Tifa a sad, but understanding look, he helps her down from the railing. Both are now in a state of complete awkwardness and embarrassment, “I-I shouldn’t have—”

“Cloud…” Tifa looks at him shyly, “I’m not upset at you at all. I want you to understand that.” She shuffles a bit before looking towards the trail, “We should get back before the others begin to worry…”

“Yeah…”

***

“So then, like… they put a picture up of some magazines… and since the two covers for Clad and Ashley were next to each other, they used it as proof. It was hilarious.” Yuffie shoves more snacks in her mouth, shaking her head in disbelief and amusement.

Cid rolls his eyes, “How many different drugs do you need to put in a blender and shove up your ass to come up with this shit?”

Barret scoffs, “For somebody who claims they don’t give a shit about that show, you sure as hell know a lot about it.”

Yuffie looks at them, “Who, me?! No, I just find the stories I rea—I mean – I hear from other people around, you know?”

“Uh-huh…” Cait Sith rolls away from the group to attempt to avoid more Clashley vs. Clati talk.

“They’ve been gone a while…” Red says, a hint of concern in his voice as he looks towards the door.

Yuffie cocks an eyebrow and a grin spreads across her face, “You think he found her?”

Barret rolls his eyes, “I’m sure he did. Maybe she wanted to walk more.” Barret shrugs.

“Or, or, or…” Yuffie starts.

“Doubtful.” Vincent simply states.

“Why?” Yuffie pouts at him.

Cid lets out a laugh, “Cuz they’re the only ones that don’t see it. They’re that dense. They’ll continue to have eye-sex with each other until one of them finally breaks or somebody locks them in a closet.”

Yuffie gets a thoughtful look on her face. Perhaps there was hope afterall…

***

Cloud’s head is spinning, and his lips are still stinging. Kissing Tifa like _that_ brought up very deep feelings from somewhere. Something that didn’t really happen during the play. Perhaps it would have happened if they would have kissed on the gondola or after they rolled off the train. Maybe in that attic in Nibelheim or in Aerith’s garden.

 _“What the hell has gotten into me…?”_ Cloud is attempting to process this. Mainly the fact that Tifa was so _willing and responsive_ to all of this has his head spinning even further. Maybe her grief over everything caused her to respond in a way. She needed comfort. That’s what it was. He’s confused. He feels so much turmoil.

_“You don’t deserve her. You can’t save anyone.”_

_“You’re a failure.”_

_“She only did it because she’s upset.”_

_“Get away from her.”_

_“Don’t you have something more important to do than getting your d—"_

“Hey, Cloud?” Tifa breaks him from his thoughts, “Thanks for… um… thanks for checking on me earlier.” She blushes and looks towards the door to her and Yuffie’s room.

“I-It’s nothing. Just needed to make sure you were safe.” He also looks away from her towards his own room, but for a moment, wonders if Yuffie is in the one she’s sharing with Tifa or if it’s vacant. He mentally slaps himself to stop, “I’m sure the others will be happy to see you’re back.”

She smiles and nods at him. He’s a bit worried… her lips are still red and somewhat swollen, and he’s worried his aren’t in much better shape. The cold would need to be used as the excuse – hopefully, they’d buy it. As Cloud opens the door, the others all snap their heads in his direction, holding their breath until they see Tifa behind him.

“’Bout damn time.” Cid says, “Was about to go out lookin’ myself.”

Yuffie rolls her eyes, “No you weren’t. You weren’t moving.”

“Was gonna have a smoke anyway, kid.”

Cloud is extremely relieved that Cid didn’t come looking for them. He can’t even imagine what that would have been like… He’s also hoping nobody sees that look of relief on his face and starts questioning him. Luckily, it seems they’re mostly interested in Tifa at this point.

Barret has a look of relief on his face, but also needs to bring out Papa Barret for a moment, “The hell was that? Going off on your own?”

Tifa frowns and sighs, “Sorry, just needed time to think.”

Barret’s face softens, “I get it… But next time, you gotta let somebody come with ya. You don’t know what the hell is out here, it’s a new area.”

“I know, Barret. I’ll make sure to do better next time.” Tifa offers him a small smile.

“Soooooooooooo…..” Yuffie starts, grinning mischievously, “Why are your lips all red?”

Tifa freezes, but Cloud takes on the same ability used to pretend he never danced at the Honeybee Inn, “Yuffie, it’s really cold out. Tifa probably needs something to put on her lips. Do you have anything?”

Yuffie looks even more evil, “No, but I think _you_ could put something on her lips.”

Cloud narrows his eyes at her and is about to blast her, but Barret steps in, “Alright, that’s enough of that shit.” He gives Yuffie a stern look, “Leave ‘em alone. We got enough shit to worry about. This ain’t _Moogle Central 17_ or whatever the hell it is.”

“It’s _Moomba Forever 7_ geez.” Yuffie huffs, “Well I’m tired and this popsicle stand is starting to suck.” She stands and stretches, “I’m off to bed.” She looks at Tifa as she is leaving, the evidence of her earlier playfulness gone and replaced with what Tifa can only describe as fear, “You’re coming too, right?” She asks weakly.

“Of course!” Tifa tries her best to give a warm smile to her. She looks over to Cloud and blushes again, “Goodnight….” Tifa realizes she can’t just say goodnight to one person, so she looks around, “…everyone.” They all nod. Cloud gives her a slight smile, Yuffie luckily not catching it.

***

“You’re not gonna tell me anything?!” Yuffie pouts at her.

Tifa gives her a confused look, “What do you mean?”

“Oh, _please_ , your lips aren’t chapped.” Yuffie crosses her arms.

Tifa looks at her, amused, “I think you’ve been hanging out with Cid a little too much.” She unclasps her belt and suspenders and lets her skirt fall to the floor, leaving her in her thigh highs, shorts, and tank top. Tonight, this should be enough. She could pass out where she was standing at this point, exhausted from a mix lust, shock, and grief. She picks up her skirt and folds it neatly, placing it on the counter.

“Whatever.” Yuffie sighs and throws herself on a bed. Tifa walks out, brushing her hair and sits on one of the other beds. Yuffie sits up on her elbows and watches Tifa for a few moments, “So was it fun?”

Tifa looks at her, “Was what fun?”

“You know. Whatever gave you those swollen lips.” Yuffie dons a classic shit-eating grin now.

Tifa sighs heavily, “Yuffie, I’m telling you, nothing from your imagination happened. Unless you think walking and occasional talking is a fantasy.”

Yuffie lets out a heavy sigh, “The tension has to break eventually.”

Tifa turns her head towards her, “What tension?”

“Seriously? Wow… I mean… Wow, I’ve met some dense people, but my Leviathan…” Yuffie starts laughing.

“Cloud and I are friends…”

Friends who make out and grind on railings, but friends.

“Sure, whatever you say.” Yuffie sighs and lays back.

The two of them lay in silence for a bit. As Tifa thinks she’s going to drift off to sleep she feels a dip in the mattress and turns to see Yuffie sitting there looking at her with sad eyes.

“Yuffie, what’s wrong?” Tifa turns to her and props herself on her elbow.

“Um… Did you go for a walk because of… Aerith?” Yuffie asks nervously, she’s averting her eyes, trying to hide the tears threatening to start.

Tifa thinks for a moment on how to respond to this, “I think I went for a walk for many reasons… Aerith was the most prominent in my mind tonight… It was just yesterday that…”

“Yeah… I… I miss her a lot.” Yuffie’s voice cracks a bit but she holds back the onslaught of emotions.

“Me too.” Tifa smiles, “But she’d want us to smile and be happy, you know?” Tifa knows she’s not following this advice herself, but perhaps Yuffie can.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Yuffie smiles weakly. Tifa pats the bed to let her know she can stay with her. Yuffie smiles a bit and gets under her covers, “I think I can sleep now. Thanks, Tifa.”

“Anytime.” Tifa smiles at her. When she rolls away from Yuffie the smile is replaced with a look of grief, confusion, and pain.

Guilt. Guilt for not stopping Aerith from going to the Forgotten City. Guilt for letting her die. Guilt for not telling her more often how important she was to her. Guilt for not knowing all of the turmoil the young woman was going through. Guilt for enjoying her romantic interlude with Cloud. She shouldn’t be enjoying something so intimate and deep so soon after such a horrific event.

Every time she closes her eyes, she’s met with bright green eyes and steel ripping through flesh; blood on her arms, hands, and shirt that isn’t her own. When she closed her eyes while kissing Cloud, she didn’t see any of that. She saw starry skies, blue eyes like the sea, and… _home_. This thought pained her. Cloud felt like home. The only thing she had left that she could say was even close to a home.

_“What if I’m cursed… and everything that’s home… goes away? Nibelheim is gone. Sector 7 is gone… All I have left… that’s close to the feeling of home is… Cloud…” She swallows hard, holds her eyes shut tight, and attempts to stop the burning threat of tears and push away the horrific images plaguing her, “No, I won’t allow it… I have to make sure Cloud is okay. I have to help him… I need him whole again…”_

As she drifts off, she swears she hears a faint voice say, _“It will be okay… and… it’s about time.”_

***

Cloud has taken his coat and equipment off and sits on the open bed. 

Red stretches before jumping onto the couch next to Cait Sith, “What is the plan for tomorrow?”

“Go north.” Cloud simply states, exhausted but very awake from, well, everything. He sighs as he sits on the bed and prepares to lay back.

Barret is already laying down, but turns toward him, “Pretty vague, don’t you think?”

“Well… All I know is to go North.” Cloud thinks for a moment, “I’m not sure how far it is yet, there’s really no maps for that part of the world.”

“Not like anybody goes up there… All kindsa old legends and shit.” Cid clears his throat as he settles in a bit.

“I’m sure somebody in town knows something.” Vincent states without looking at any of them.

“I can look in the archives and see if we’ve got anything at headquarters…” Cait Sith offers. This is met with suspicious looks from all, but they nod in agreement, realizing it may not matter.

Cloud seemingly has fallen asleep to the rest of the group. The lights in the room are turned off, but he is far from sleep at this point. His mind is filled with thoughts of ebony hair brushing against his arms, contented sighs and moans, and the feeling of soft, supple lips against his own. His mind interrupts these pleasant thoughts and goes to Sephiroth. It was imperative for them to get to him tomorrow. It was the most important goal of the trip thus far. He must get to Sephiroth.

Cloud prefers his initial thoughts and attempts to home in on them. He shuts his eyes tightly, not wanting to move even though he wasn’t very comfortable at this point.

_“I would kill for a… very cold… shower.”_

***

The next morning, they find themselves in a ski shop being followed around by a _very_ excited and enthusiastic shop owner. The man must be imagining filling a bathtub full of Gil, considering the amount of clothing items Tifa and Yuffie alone had. They’d both picked out sleek cold gear that was form fitting in order to stay mobile. Red got a waterproof poncho to throw over his back, hoping to prevent his fur from getting too wet. Cid, Vincent, and Cait Sith loitered near the entrance, not needing anything new. Barret looked around, but gave up, realizing the coat was all he needed, and he wasn’t going to buy another one just so he would have to cut the arm off.

Yuffie also picked out a hat that had fake plastic horns coming out from it.

“Seems fitting.” Barret smirks at Yuffie and she rolls her eyes.

“Alright, do we have everything?” Cloud scans the group.

“I think so.” Tifa looks around as the others nod.

The shop keeper is practically bouncing behind the counter as they walk up. Cloud scowls, thinking of the amount of Gil they’re going to hand over for all of this stuff. The shop keeper begins taking each item and folding it neatly. Cloud notices a pair of goggles on display, “How much are those?”

The shop keeper looks up and grins widely, “Ah, these are on sale! Only 500 Gil!” Cloud averts his eyes and looks back down at the pile.

“You should get them.” He looks up and sees Tifa giving him a shy smile, “You never buy anything for yourself. You always are worried about the rest of us.”

“Yeah, you should totally buy them! You’ll look like a total dork!” Yuffie cackles.

Cloud rolls his eyes and looks back at the shop keeper, “Yeah, sure, I’ll take them.” The shop keeper carefully takes the goggles from the display and begins to wrap them. Cloud stops them, “No, it’s fine. I’ll probably wear them out of here.”

Vincent walks over, “Cloud, how are we getting down the mountain? You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

Cloud looks back at Vincent, “Uh, no…”

“The ski lifts are not running currently. We will need another way down. It’s too steep to walk.” Vincent looks over at Red and Cid who nod in agreement.

The shop keeper pipes up, “We do rentals of snowmobiles and we also have a variety of snowboards for sale!”

“Oh! Snowboards!” Tifa sounds happier than she has in days. She blushes at her sudden outburst, but Cloud feels himself grow warm from the sight.

“Do you want to go snowboarding?” He asks her and raises an eyebrow.

Tifa looks at him, still blushing, “Yeah. It’s been a really long time…”

“Alright, we can do that… I’ll do it too.” Cloud nods.

“I’m in!” Cid bolts over, “I’m in for it!”

Cloud scowls a bit, thinking that the price of three snowboards is going to be ridiculous. The shop keeper leans over the counter, “Since you’ve been such wonderful patrons, I’ll let you in on a secret.” Cloud looks at the shop keeper, waiting for him to continue, “The woman living in the house near this shop has a son who broke his leg recently. She’d do anything to get rid of that snowboard. That may give you the third one if you’re interested.”

Cloud nods, “Thanks.”

The shop keeper leans back and pads a calculator a few times, “Okay, with everything that’ll be 25,000 Gil!”

Cloud chokes on air and coughs for a moment before forking over most of their funds. It’ll be worth it, since everybody will be more prepared. They now had tents, clothing, snowboards, a few snow mobiles, and goggles. Cloud pauses, “I need another pair of goggles.”

Barret looks at him, “For what?”

“Tifa will need them for snowboarding. Cid already has a pair.” Cloud states. Tifa smiles and looks down.

***

“The hell you mean I gotta share?!” Barret throws his arm up, “Why’s it always gotta be me sharing?!”

Red sighs as he sits near the back of the seat on one of the snow mobiles, “I clearly am not going to be able to drive this thing.”

“Yeah, but Vincent can and Yuffie can!” Barret protests.

“Cait Sith is going with Vincent.” Red closes his eyes and shakes his head.

Barret looks at him, “And what about Yuffie?”

“No.” Red states without looking towards her.

“Hey! Why not?!” Yuffie pouts.

“I would rather walk down this mountain than have you kill me with your driving.” Red looks at Barret, near begging status.

Yuffie huffs, “I’m a fantastic driver. You’ll see!” She revs the engine of the snow mobile and it takes off. She starts screaming and slams on the brakes.

“Yeah, really great driver.” Red says sarcastically. Barret doesn’t question it anymore and sits in front of Red, preparing to leave.

Cloud, Tifa, and Cid came a few moments later, third snowboard in tow, ready to go.

“Alright, good to go?” Cloud looks around and everyone nods. As he places the snowboard down to start securing it to his feet, they hear a few people approaching them quickly.

“HEY! THEY’RE HERE!”

“Oh shit!” Cid yells, “The hell are the damn Turks doing here?!”

It was one Turk – Elena – being escorted by two Shinra Infantrymen.

“Stop right there!” She yells.

Cloud rolls his eyes and walks up to her, “What do you want?”

“I’m here to stop you from interfering with Rufus’ plans!” Elena exclaims proudly and one of the Shinra Infantrymen slaps his helmet and put his head down, slowly shaking it.

“What’s Rufus doing here?” Cloud asks, waiting for her to just spill it since she always does.

“He’s heading to the North—” Elena is cut off by one of her Shinra Infantrymen throwing out a very loud fake cough, “Nevermind!” She begins to approach Cloud, “Get ready for this!”

Elena lifts her fist. Cloud sees what she’s doing and, at the last moment, dodges the onslaught of Elena’s fist, causing her to tumble forward… and not stop. She goes down the mountain screaming.

“Ma’am!” The two Infantrymen yell and run after her.

“Well, I guess that’s one way to get down there…” Tifa puts a hand on her hip.

Cid steps up next to Cloud and Tifa and places his goggles on his face, “Y’all ready for this?!”

Cloud places his goggles on his face and looks at Tifa who has a look of fierce determination on her face as she lowers her goggles over her own. Cid lights a cigarette.

Cait Sith looks over at him, “How do you think that’s going to go?”

“I can swim with one of these babies. No worries!” Cid laughs and double checks his snowboard.

“Don’t break a hip, pops!” Yuffie yells and cackles in his direction.

“I’ll break your damn—” Cid begins his onslaught of bashing but is cut off when Yuffie starts her snow mobile up and drowns out his voice.

The others all begin to start their engines and Cloud, Cid, and Tifa prepare to push off and snowboard down the mountain alongside of the rest. Tifa’s boldness has started to look more like anxiousness, but before Cloud can ask her if she’s okay, she pushes off and heads down the mountain, startling both Cid and Cloud to follow.

Back during childhood, Tifa and her friends would often snowboard. She remembers Cloud going a few times but was surprised at his skill. She felt a bit rusty but felt like it was coming back to her pretty quickly. Cutting and leaning to try and find the best speed, she looked back to see Cloud gaining on her. Cid was leisurely gliding along, taking drags of his cigarette against the wind, somehow.

Tifa looks forward again as they begin to come up on some trees. She focuses on avoiding them, cutting through the snow and turning sharply. Cloud is gaining on her, a part of him scared out of his mind that something is going to happen to her. Once they’re clear from the trees, she glances back at him with a smirk. He catches something ahead and his stomach turns, “Tifa!! Look out!!”

Tifa gasps and cuts hard, causing herself to fall and roll, her snowboard blowing off of her feet. Cloud hears Cid cursing behind him and speeding up along with the sound of an incoming snow mobile. Cloud makes it there first, “Tifa?!” He falls into the snow without removing his snowboard, his thoughts are flooding with fear, he’s afraid he’s going to lose it. The pain is starting, he’s got to control it. He clenches his teeth as he slowly lifts her up.

He’s relieved when she opens her eyes and groans a bit. He hears Barret run up behind him, “Tifa! What happened?!”

“Something… on the trail…” She gets out as she sits up from Cloud.

“Can you walk?! Is anything broken?!” Cloud asks her, his face riddled with worry, looking her up and down for any obvious injuries.

“No, I’m not in any pain… those things break away for a reason, you know.” Tifa gives him a reassuring look.

“Yeah, but…” Cloud starts, but is interrupted as Red walks up.

Red looks at Tifa and sighs in relief before continuing, “Cloud… you should take a look at what was in Tifa’s path.”

Cloud and Tifa look over towards the offending object and see Vincent, Cid, Yuffie, and Cait Sith standing over it. A black mound. Barret gives Red a confused look and begins to follow him over. Cloud helps Tifa up and she’s slightly wobbly, but able to make her way over to the questionable object. The object turned out to be a Remnant. Stiff and cold. It was hard to tell how long they’d been dead, since it was so cold and only getting colder.

“Damn… you think…?” Cid shakes his head as he looks at the group.

“It seems they are going to the same destination…” Red states, “I overheard some of the villagers saying they saw men dressed in black cloaks groaning and walking through before our arrival.”

“You didn’t think to mention that?” Barret huffs at him.

“Well, I had a lot on my mind.” Red rolls his eyes. Barret frowns and nods his understanding.

“So, if they’re heading there as well…” Tifa starts.

“Sephiroth.” Cloud stares ahead, the urge to continue is getting strong, “He’s there. I can…” He stops and shakes his head as the others look at him, holding their breath, “We should keep moving.”

Luckily, they were almost down the mountain prior to Tifa’s tumble. Tifa and Yuffie share a snow mobile to make it the rest of the way, while Cid and Cloud glide along side of them on their snowboards. At some point, they pass a limping Elena and the two infantrymen from before, seemingly attempting to go back up towards Icicle Village, defeated. As they get further down, the snow gets heavier, and Barret grows concerned that they could easily get lost in this. The snow is getting so thick that it’s hard to hear the others.

“Cloud!” Barret yells and looks around.

“Yeah!” Cloud yells back.

“How the hell we supposed to get through this?”

Cloud looks around, “Nowhere to stop! We’ve got keep moving and find a place to shelter!”

Tifa is sitting behind Yuffie and hears her whimper a bit. She gently hugs her to try and calm her down, “Don’t worry, we’ll find a way…” She doesn’t believe it herself, but perhaps it’ll keep Yuffie from completely losing it.

Eventually, they see nothing but white.

***

Tifa slowly opens her eyes and feels… warm? She sits up quickly, confused on where she is, and realizes she only has her sports bra and shorts on. Feeling vulnerable, she holds the blanket tighter to her chest and scans the room, eyes wide. She spots Cloud sleeping on the other side of the room, his shoulders peaking out from the blanket thrown over him. She blushes at this, thinking he must be in a similar state that she’s in.

“Oh! Good, you’re awake!” Yuffie pops her head into the room and smiles cheerfully, “Not that I was worried or anything.”

“Yuffie… where are we?” Tifa asks, still holding the blanket tightly to her chest.

“Why don’t you get dressed? The rest are waiting out there…” She says sheepishly.

Tifa gives her a stern look but agrees. Yuffie throws her clothes at her, warm from drying by a fire, she assumes, and she carefully puts the articles on while using the blanket as a shield. Why were her and Cloud seemingly in worse shape than the rest? The last thing she remembers is running, but only seeing white. Tifa swings her legs over the side of the bed and slowly stands up, still feeling somewhat groggy and unstable. Yuffie gives her a questioning look and Tifa smiles at her before looking over at Cloud, who was breathing softly on the other side of the room.

“Should we wake him?” She asks and looks back to Yuffie.

“He probably wouldn’t mind if you do.” Yuffie flashes a grin at her and Tifa rolls her eyes but feels her face heat up a bit.

Tifa walks over towards Cloud and slowly leans down, whispering his name a few times. His face scrunches up and a soft groan escapes him before he slowly opens his eyes. Cloud blinks a few times, trying to get his vision to focus as he sees Tifa standing over him, smiling warmly, “Cloud…”

He slowly sits up and Tifa realizes he doesn’t have a shirt on. Her face turns red and she turns from him quickly. Yuffie whistles and then starts laughing, “Uh, seriously? You’ve never seen him without his shirt on? I don’t believe that for a second.”

Tifa’s eyes widen and she gives Yuffie a look to warn her that she shouldn’t say another word. The truth is, no, Tifa hadn’t seen Cloud without a shirt on. In Costa del Sol he refused to go shirtless and at various points in their journey, the team always gave each other privacy when it came to cleaning up and washing their clothes. The men went with the men and the women went with the women. This quick glance she got just moments ago made her heart jump a bit.

Sure, she could _imagine_ what Cloud may have looked like under that sweater. He caught her enough times in the last month for her to feel what was there, but seeing it was something different.

“What… happened?” Tifa jumps out of her thoughts as she hears Cloud shift behind her. Yuffie turns for a moment and picks up his sweater to throw it at him before leaving the room.

Cloud swings his legs over the side of the bed and shakes his head a few times. Tifa stays turned, making sure to give him some privacy. She realizes she’s chewing on her bottom lip. She hears loud footsteps slowly approaching and Barret pushes the door open, slowly. He gives Tifa a look of relief and then over to Cloud, throwing his pants and other equipment at him.

“Figured you might want these…” Barret says as he gives Tifa a teasing look.

“Yeah, thanks…” Cloud says and clears his throat. Tifa is glad she didn’t turn around too soon, that could have been awkward. Would it have been awkward? She decides it would have been.

***

With Cloud fully dressed, the three of them leave the back room to join the others. They are met with the tired stares of the rest of the group, sitting on various chairs and couches near a large fireplace. Red is laying on a large white bear fur carpet, looking extremely content for once.

“Ah! I see you are up now!” Cloud and Tifa snap their heads in the direction of the booming voice to see an older, grey-bearded gentleman smiling at them. He removes his reading glasses and approaches, “I’m Holzhoff.”

“Where are we?” Cloud asks.

Holzhoff gives him a slight chuckle, “My home. I found you and your friends in a pretty dangerous situation. I’m assuming you’re not from here or aren’t one familiar with Gaea’s Cliff?”

“Uh… no, can’t say we are…” Cloud shifts a bit.

“Thank you for letting us helping us and letting us stay here…” Tifa says and smiles at him.

“No problem…” Holzhoff folds his glasses and sets them down, “Not often I see people come up here unless it’s for sport. What bring you here?”

“We’re looking for someone.” Cloud simply says, “Man in a black cape.”

Holzhoff’s eyes widen a bit as he takes a deep breath and lets out a small chuckle, “I’ve actually seen many men in black capes recently. A few I tried talking to but… they seemed sick.”

 _“Remnants…”_ Cloud thought to himself, “Thanks… were they all heading in the same direction?”

“They were…” Holzhoff looked over to the rest of the group, “I don’t recommend you go much further than this, though… Not many people make it up… or even back down.”

Yuffie begins to look concerned, “Why?!”

“The wind, the extreme temperatures, the ice, the snow… Many reasons. Usually people get tired and pass out from it all,” He looks back over towards Cloud and Tifa, “Much like you two did.”

“Just us?” Tifa asks.

“Your friends here caught my attention by yelling a lot. I heard a bit in the wind. You were actually really close.” He lets out a small chuckle, “But then you were in a white-out situation. You wouldn’t have been able to see it if you tried.”

Barret stepped towards an empty seat next to Cid and sat down, “Cloud musta gotten disoriented or something, but next thing I know Tifa is yelling and running towards where she thought he was.”

“We lost sight of both of you,” Vincent interjects.

“Tifa had managed to find Cloud, but he had lost consciousness, we assume…” Red trails off, “We’re actually not sure what happened, but both of you were unconscious when you were found. You were both close to each other, so it did make it a bit easier.”

“Damn lucky if you ask me,” Cid scoffs, “The hell would we have done if we lost you two?”

Tifa feels a bit embarrassed. She doesn’t remember any of this. When did she jump off of the snow mobile? What possessed her to do such a thing?

“What matters is, you’re both okay.” Red states calmly without looking at the group. Red had better hearing than the others and knew Cloud’s reason for passing out was due to one of his headaches. He heard the grunt, and it must have been an intense one. With the mix of the wind, snow, and disorienting nature of the situation they were in, it proved to have been too much for Cloud. One thing he couldn’t explain is how Tifa realized Cloud was in danger, unless it was a moment between the snow mobiles’ engines revving and she happened to hear the same noise Red did. Though Red was concerned that Cloud seemed to be having more frequent and more severe attacks, he chose not to bring it up at this time, fearing it could cause the group to become more anxious than they already were.

Cloud is shifting anxiously in his spot, “We need to get north as soon as possible.”

Holzhoff’s face begins to show signs of concern, “Son, I… I don’t know what the urgency is, but Gaea’s Cliff is not a place anyone should go…”

Cloud is growing frustrated, feeling that it’s imperative that they get over the cliff today. He looks away from Holzhoff and sighs, crossing his arms. Tifa looks at him and then back to Holzhoff, “Is there anything we can do to make it easier? Why is it so dangerous?”

Holzhoff’s look softens a bit as she asks and he takes a seat, “Oh, it had to be thirty years ago now…” He trails off for a moment, looking out of the front window, “We used to take on the most extreme challenges, Yamski and I. We’d gone up many mountains and cliffs in our time, but Gaea’s was the ultimate challenge.”

Barret looks over at Tifa and Cloud, who are intent on listening to Holzhoff’s story. The rest of the party had perked up as well, listening to the calming voice of the older gentleman.

“The wind is nothing like it is down here. It’s much worse. Yamski and I always tied a rope between us in case the other fell – standard protocol, really…” Holzhoff swallowed, “Your body temperature can drop very quickly up there. We were struggling to get to enough safe places to warm up. Yamski couldn’t take it anymore and… cut his rope…”

Tifa lets out a small gasp and the others frown. Holzhoff continues, “I didn’t know it until it was too late, after I’d found a ledge to stand on… I realized the end of the rope was empty.”

“I’m sorry.” Barret says solemnly.

“Going home without Yamski was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. Telling his wife that he wouldn’t come home…” Holzhoff shakes his head, “Twenty years ago I left home and vowed to try and protect anyone else who dared challenge Gaea’s Cliff. If you want to go, I can’t stop you, I can only warn you and advise you.”

The party was silent for a few moments. Cloud felt like his mind was spinning at the possibilities. Red would need to be attached to one of them by default, there was no way he could climb. Barret was going to struggle too and was the heaviest of them all. Cloud knew that they all had to go, so they had to come up with a plan. A plan that would ensure _all_ of them would come home safe.

“What do you advise?” Cloud simply asks.

Holzhoff stares at him for a few moments before he begins, “You’re going to need harnesses. I should have enough…” Holzhoff looks at Red, “I may have a dog harness as well, and that should fit your friend.”

Red nods at him and then gestures towards Barret, “What about him?”

Holzhoff sizes up Barret and chuckles a bit, “Not to worry, I have harnesses in all sizes.” Barret seems relieved to hear it, thinking about the bad luck they’ve had with finding things that fit him properly.

Holzhoff continues to talk to the party about preparations and explains multiple times, without being prompted, that they need to keep their body temperature up. Ultimately, that would be what saves them. He also explains that there are flags showing safe spots to rest. As long as they stayed on the correct path, they would be fine.

They had to be fine. There was no other option in Cloud’s mind. They all needed to make it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh the struggle on the food... I figured it makes it even worse when the Northern Crater happens because she got a taste of the Strife... Not a big taste, but enough. 
> 
> Also, the Highwind scene, which is probably in 4-5 chapters from here (or sooner, we'll see). We all know how that's going to go. 
> 
> Up the rating or include a SFW version here and attempt an NSFW version separately? My gut is saying to up the rating and keep it going, but you guys tell me. 
> 
> As always, thank you for everything and I hope you enjoyed it.


	14. I Can't Stop Loving You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Not the weirdest thing I’ve fought,” Cloud states as he queues up a Fire spell of his own.  
> “You’ve fought something weirder than an icicle?” Yuffie questions.  
> “A house,” Cloud states flatly as he releases a torrent of Fire on the large icicle.  
> “A house? You fought a house? What did you smoke that day?” Yuffie cackles.  
> ***  
> “We need to be very careful crossing!” Cloud yells over the howling wind to the group, “There should be breaks in the wind!”  
> Barret shakes his head, “I dunno, man… Can’t you get him to come over here?”  
> Red sighs, “Yes, I’m sure Sephiroth will just walk over here simply because Cloud tells him to.”
> 
> The rest is angst - it's the Northern Crater.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are so wonderful... I love reading your comments. They really do put a big smile on my face and make my heart swell. I am really glad that I can give you guys something to enjoy, and in turn, I get to do something I enjoy.
> 
> Work sucks - too bad FFVII Fandom doesn't pay the bills, or maybe I could do this full time! Maybe one day... 
> 
> I had the good parts drafted out for this, it was the rest of it that I struggled with how to handle. This also was a bit emotionally taxing to write, thinking of how hard this scene is going to hit in Remake once it comes.
> 
> Also I didn't read this through as many times as I usually do, so apologizes for any spelling mistakes or weirdness.

At the bottom of Gaia’s Cliff, the group looks up, entranced by the seemingly never ending cliffside. Cloud almost felt as if he were being pulled towards the top. Too bad nothing was actually pulling him and the others up there. They’d need to climb, just like every other poor soul before them did. For a moment, he thinks if any of the Remnants had made it. How? They would have had no equipment and every one of them that they had encountered previously also seemed physically unstable.

Cloud looks across the group, who are all now looking to him, “Are we good?”

They all nodded simultaneously, looking a mix of determined and nervous. Cloud takes a breath and walks forward, beginning the climb up the cliff side. The first part seems simple enough, allowing the group to simply walk up a trail. As they continued, the wall started to hit them. Barret was chanting to himself words that nobody else in the group could make out. Cloud swears he heard Marlene’s name in there a few times along with the names of various old gods and summons.

Red’s harness was latched to Barret’s prior to the climb, with a rope connecting all of them. If one fell, the hope was that the group would be able to catch them. Cloud let the instructions that Holzhoff provided run through his head over and over, fearing he’d forget something if he let the mantra stop. The most important was to try and keep your body temperature up.

“Look!” Cloud snaps out of his thoughts and looks towards Yuffie, who is pointing up. Cloud follows her line of sight and sees a red flag blowing in the wind. The first “checkpoint” where they could take a break. Holzhoff said there should be seven of these checkpoints, so long as you stayed on the correct path. Upon reaching the first ledge, the team huddled close together, catching their breath and attempting to warm up.

“The wind will get stronger the higher up we go. We need to save our energy to fight against it,” Vincent flatly says, seemingly not out of breath unlike the rest of the group. Cloud nods as he begins to regain control of his breathing. Cid begins to cough as he lights up a cigarette.

“Seriously?” Cloud asks.

“Listen, kid…,” Cid says and inhales a bit, “Don’t worry about me. I ain’t worried about it. My life to live as I so choose.”

What could he say to that? Cloud simply shrugs and nods. Tifa looks at him and smiles, seemingly warmer and more in breath than he is. As Cloud looks at her, his mind begins to drift off to the night before, something that made him immediately feel warm, no matter how cold it was at this moment. Maybe she was thinking the same? He could only hope.

“We should continue… this may take a while…,” Tifa says and looks at the others, all who agree.

***

“Listen, man, it was an offer that couldn’t be refused!” Reno scoffs at Rude’s stoic stare, “I had _two_ Four Locos. _TWO._ ”

“Did you ever think that maybe women don’t want to go bowling and throw marbles at cars?” Rude asks and sighs.

“Whatever. I don’t see you having much luck with whatever _you’re_ doing,” Reno flashes a grin.

Rude rolls his eyes and ignores the comment, attempting to get back on track with why he walked over here in the first place, “Apparently Elena wasn’t able to stop Strife and his friends. So, we need to try and figure out where she is so we can pick her up.”

Reno lets out a laugh, “She couldn’t stop him? What do you mean?”

“I don’t have details. I just know they continued past where she was supposed to stop them.”

Reno shakes his head and lets out a dramatic sigh, “Figures. That bitch-boy always seems to get away. Like a snake.”

Rude simply hums a reply.

“Looks like, uh, Strife has a soft spot for…,” Rude puts his finger to his chin, “What was her name again? The hot one with—”

Rude grits his teeth and walks away before Reno could finish.

“What?!” Reno yells after him, “Hey, partner! Wait! I was just kidding!”

***

The skies are gray and gloomy as Rufus stares out of the front of _The Highwind._ He senses someone slowly approaching him from behind and is met with Tseng by his side within moments. Rufus glances at him and provides a small nod.

“Mr. President…” Tseng nods, “We should be arriving within the hour.”

“Good,” Rufus turns to him, “Has Hojo said anything further?”

“No, sir… He seems to be mumbling to himself mostly,” Tseng looks back towards where Hojo was pacing around.

“Tseng…,” Rufus turns back to look at the sky, “If we find that Hojo was toying with us… You know what to do.”

Tseng smirks, “Of course, sir.”

Rufus hated his father’s lackeys. Scarlet, Heidegger, and Hojo were part of his father’s inner circle. Reeve was another story, knowing that the man often stood up to his late father and was generally only kept around due to his “other” responsibilities he was given. Rufus, however, knew that Reeve was not like the other three. Therefore, if he had it his way, he’d rid himself of the hassle of dealing with the two buffoons who laugh like idiots and the disgusting excuse of a scientist.

“Did you hear from Elena?” Rufus asks after a long pause.

Tseng clears his throat, “Yes, sir. She… did see Avalanche there.”

“And?”

“She was unable to stop them, sir.”

Rufus scoffs, “Well, more fun for me,” He looks over, smiling a bit when he sees Darkstar sleeping peacefully near him.

Perhaps his only real friend…

***

“We… made… it…,” Tifa slowly breathes out and smiles, feeling triumphant. They really did make it up Gaia’s cliff. And everyone was still there, in one piece.

They had made their way inside of a cave, met with another, less intimidating wall to climb, and were finally in a large opening filled with stalactites and stalagmites. It was oddly beautiful.

“Should we rest?” Cait Sith asks.

“No, we should keep going,” Cloud says with no hesitation, causing the group to give him puzzled looks all around. He feels a bit surprised and pauses, “…Unless you think we need to.”

“Let’s just take a quick one. We just climbed up a fucking mountain!” Cid is still attempting to catch his breath, “You wanna keep going, I’ll catch up.”

Vincent shakes his head, “We shouldn’t get separated in here. We aren’t sure of what dangers could be lurking.”

 _“Like Sephiroth. Dangers like Sephiroth.”_ Cloud thinks to himself, “Maybe for a bit. Just to get our wits about us.”

The group decides to pull out a few snacks that they’d brought along. Cloud knows they’ll need to build up their energy before heading towards the Crater, but the unseen force felt stronger as they sat there, begging him to continue. He is attempting to ignore the banter between Yuffie and Cid regarding the order of merchandise on a website and whether or not having two pieces of merchandise next to each other would symbolize anything.

He stands and adjusts his sword, prompting the others to look up at him, “We should get moving…”

Barret rolls his eyes and grunts as he stands up, brushing himself off and shooting a scowl in Cloud’s direction. As the others stand up, they either avoid eye contact or give Cloud a somewhat concerned stare. Cloud begins to think again and realizes his thoughts have become more sporadic and that Sephiroth was increasingly occupying them the longer they sat there. Tifa lingers for a moment, looking at Cloud with concern written all over her face. He begins to ask her what was wrong but is interrupted when Barret abruptly stops and looks back.

“You wanna keep movin’?! Then keep movin’!” Barret yells. Tifa gives a sad smile to Cloud before turning and running towards the others, Cloud watching her as he begins to move forward. She is the one person that is able to pull him out of mist that seems to be surrounding his mind.

***

When they get further in, they’re met with a very large pillar of ice blocking their path.

“What the hell is that?” Cid asks and pokes it, getting jarred by an Ice spell, “Shit!”

“Is it… alive?” Tifa asks and backs away a bit, preparing to fight… the ice.

“It’s just a big ass icicle. What do you mean ‘alive’?” Barret cocks an eyebrow, questioning Tifa on this odd thought, but is hit with little icicles coming from this large wall of ice, “Shit!”

“Perhaps it is alive,” Red states and prepares to cast Fire.

“Wait… wait…,” Yuffie starts to laugh, “We are fighting an _icicle_?”

“Not the weirdest thing I’ve fought,” Cloud states as he queues up a Fire spell of his own.

“You’ve fought something weirder than an icicle?” Yuffie questions.

“A house,” Cloud states flatly as he releases a torrent of Fire on the large icicle.

“A house? You fought a house? What did you smoke that day?” Yuffie cackles.

Cloud rolls his eyes and sighs, “Just… do something productive, will you?”

“Pshh, yeah, yeah, I know,” Yuffie stretches a bit, “You need me for this.”

“Shut the hell up and cast a damn spell!” Barret yells back at her.

They had to fight multiple large icicles, which were more annoyances than anything. They also began to find Remnants, making it seem that they were getting closer to their destination. Many had passed seemingly due to the extreme conditions while some were simply gasping for breath and saying, “Re…u…n…i..on…,” repeatedly to themselves. Tifa felt a pang of sadness whenever they’d come across one, knowing that at one point they were normal people who had something terrible happen to them. What, she did not know…

As they continued through, they came upon a large hall that seemed to glow and pulse. A few Remnants stood on the further end, rocking back and forth. Their gasps and mumbles seem to reverberate through the hall.

“There is an actual light at the end of the tunnel…,” Red has a slight hint of humor in his statement, as they look at the end of this long hall and notice a soft green glow.

“Is that where the Crater is? On the other side there?” Cid asks the others.

“It should be.” Cait Sith states.

“Yeah…,” Cloud stares straight ahead, “He’s there…,” He begins to walk, as if possessed by something.

Tifa feels the dread creep back over her – the same dread she felt the night before they went to the Temple of the Ancients. Her stomach turns at the thought. Her mouth goes dry. She watches him as he walks away, seeming to go further and further away.

“Hey, Tifa,” Barret gently slaps her shoulder, making her jump, “You good?”

Tifa shakes her head, “Yeah! Of course. Just… hoping we are close, that’s all.”

Barret stares at her for a few moments, attempting to fish out whatever secrets she’s holding onto with his stare. Tifa is relieved when he nods and turns to walk towards Cloud, along with the others.

As they get closer to the end, Cloud suddenly stops, causing the others to halt as well. A sinister laugh is heard echoing around them. Cloud narrows his eyes and immediately takes his sword in hand.

“Cloud?” Tifa asks and slowly approaches him.

“Oh, such joy…”

They all look around, trying to find the source of the voice. It doesn’t take long for the owner to appear in front of them, seemingly floating down from the ceiling, sporting what appeared to be a broken black wing.

“The goddess descends from the sky…”

“You…,” Cloud rolls his eyes.

Roche grins at him, “I’m so glad we meet again. My heart purrs as if it were the first time.”

Cloud notices Roche’s voice is raspy, almost broken. He appears pale and sickly, but stands tall in front of Cloud, smirking as if nothing were wrong.

Tifa begins to step forward but Cloud puts his hand up, “Tifa, stay back…”

“The hell you mean stay back?!” Barret yells.

Roche focuses his stare on Tifa and his grin widens, “I see…. So that is the one….”

“Shut up!” Cloud yells suddenly.

“You break my heart, Cloud.” Roche dramatically places his hand over his heart and sighs.

“What do you want?” Cloud asks through gritted teeth.

“You,” Roche begins to approach him, dragging his sword behind him.

“Haven’t I beat you enough?” Cloud asks, trying to remain confident. He feels as if a war is waging within him and it continues to get more intense as they approach the end of the hall, Roche’s sudden appearance seemingly making it worse.

“That was before… but I need you, Cloud… I need _you…!_ ” Roche’s voice distorts and cracks. He suddenly rushes at Cloud, who blocks him quickly. Up close, Cloud could see the greyness of his skin, his hair, and the paleness of his eyes, as if he were… dead. His eyes widen a bit and Roche jumps back.

“I feel so much when I look into your eyes, Cloud…” Roche says and smirks, “The wandering soul knows no rest.”

Cloud feels rage bubble up inside of him, and he rushes at Roche, swords clashing once more. This time, Roche spins, attempting to throw Cloud off, but he dodges it at the last moment. Roche lets out a low laugh and rushes Cloud once more.

Tifa begins to step forward, but Cloud yells back to her, “Take the others and go!”

“No! I-We’re not leaving you here!” Tifa yells back at him as Roche jumps away from him. Cloud’s eyes widen a bit, but he nods in understanding.

Cloud’s resolve seems stronger now. Roche rushes towards him, but slips a bit. Cloud finally gets a blow in, which happens to sever half of the black wing from Roche’s back. He screams out in pain as blood falls along with it. Cloud hears the others gasp behind him, but he refuses to lose his focus. Roche falls to one knee and is breathing heavily. Cloud puts his sword under Roche’s chin, coaxing him to look up at him. He stares into Cloud’s eyes, smirking the entire time.

“Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul… Pride is lost… Wings… stripped away… The end is nigh,” Roche suddenly stands and knocks Cloud back, causing him to almost lose his footing.

“The hell is that guy saying?” Barret whispers and side eyes Vincent, who shrugs.

Roche slowly approaches Cloud, sword lazily held at his side, “My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I? All that awaits you is a somber morrow. No matter where the winds may blow.”

Cloud suddenly is hit with a sharp pain in his head, why were these lines so familiar to him? What is this, why is he talking like this? Where has he heard this before? Or was someone simply talking about it?

_“…and…. He always is saying… quotes… sometimes…. I guess….”_

Cloud snaps out of his trance, only to be face to face with Roche. The others, standing near him now, ready to stop Roche from doing anything. He feels Tifa at his side, her hands on his arm. Roche looks at her again. Cloud immediately stands up straight, causing Tifa’s hands to leave his arm.

“Just give up!” Cloud barks at Roche, “Haven’t you had enough?!”

“My friend, the fates are cruel…,” Roche’s smile fades, “…Don’t you see?” Roche backs away from him slowly. Cloud continues to stare at him, expression unchanged. Roche lets out a small huff, “You and I are the same… I am… your future.”

Cloud hears Tifa gasp behind him. Barret looks over at her, fearing that Roche is talking about what President Shinra had mentioned prior to them being ambushed by the Airbuster in Mako Reactor 5. Degeneration.

“What?” Cloud asks, his voice cracking a bit.

Roche simply laughs at him before rushing him once again, thinking that Cloud is now distracted. Unfortunately for Roche, Cloud is ready, and Roche runs right into Cloud’s sword, impaling himself. The entire hall falls silent except a few gurgles from Roche, as blood begins to pool in his throat. Cloud’s eyes widen. He slowly pulls the sword back, causing Roche to stumble and fall.

“Even if the morrow… is… barren of promises…”

Cloud leans down after ensuring Roche’s sword was out of reach. Blood begins to pool around him. He can feel Tifa staring at them from behind.

“Cloud… you…” Roche gasps a few times, and then smiles as he looks up.

“What?!” Tifa asks urgently, causing Cloud to turn quickly and look at her. Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes.

As Cloud turns back away from Tifa, Roche’s life fades.

**_“DEGENERATION.”_ **

Cloud suddenly stands, looking around at the source of what he just heard. The others seem to be oblivious to this.

**_“Come, Cloud… I am waiting…”_ **

“Sephiroth…,” Cloud breathes out.

“What? He’s here?!” Yuffie exclaims.

Cloud simply walks towards the exit of the hall, not looking back at any of them. Tifa freezes as she sees him walk away from her, and her throat seizes up. This is too familiar to past dreams and fears of hers. Cloud walking away, not turning to look at them. Sword held to his side.

***

As Cloud exits the tunnel, he feels the wind slam him. The entire crater is full of what appears to be a green haze.

 _“The Lifestream?”_ He thinks to himself. He hears the others approach from behind.

“Cloud!” Barret yells, “What the hell are you doing, man?!”

Cloud shakes his head without looking back and begins to walk forward.

Tifa runs after him, “Cloud!” This time, he turns and softens his gaze a bit. Cloud watches and Tifa seems to hyper herself up, taking a deep breath before saying, “Cloud… I… Sephiroth has done a lot… I want revenge too… I’m coming with you. You can’t stop me!”

Cloud’s eyes widen a bit at her insistence. After a few moments of contemplation, he nods, “Of course, Tifa,”

When they turn back, they notice a few Remnants walking ahead in a single file line. As the Remnants are crossing a narrow passage, a gust of wind comes through and causes a few to fall off. Tifa gasps as she watches them fall. Yuffie comes to her side, teeth chattering and attempts to console her, looking horrified herself.

“We need to be very careful crossing!” Cloud yells over the howling wind to the group, “There should be breaks in the wind!”

Barret shakes his head, “I dunno, man… Can’t you get him to come over here?”

Red sighs, “Yes, I’m sure Sephiroth will just walk over here simply because Cloud tells him to.”

“Don’t be so sure he won’t…” Vincent trails off and is staring ahead, along with Cloud and Tifa. Sephiroth stands at the other side of the chasm, silently mocking them.

Barret at first has his jaw dropped, but slowly looks at Red and gives a slight, knowing smirk. Red rolls his eyes and walks forward, resisting the urge to slap Barret’s leg with his tail. Sephiroth then walks away from them, causing Red to turn and look at Barret, who avoids his gaze.

They begin to carefully and quickly cross the narrow pathway, Barret chanting the entire way. When they make it across, just as another gust blows through, most of the group lets out a sigh of relief. As they continue forward, they see Sephiroth again, this time, standing over a few remnants. He spots the group and smirks, driving his sword through one of the Remnants.

“Why?” Tifa breathes out. Cloud continues to stare ahead at Sephiroth, watching as he cuts down any Remnants around him. The Remnants all stand there, as if they are receiving a great gift allowing him to take their lives. Perhaps it was relieving, to be put out of their misery. Cloud’s feet begin to pull him forward, and he grits his teeth as he sees Sephiroth smirk at him before turning and walking further towards the crater.

**_“Almost there, Cloud.”_ **

Cloud squeezes his eyes shut, attempting to block out the voice of Sephiroth that is echoing through his mind and only becoming clearer. He still feels himself being propelled forward. Tifa is by his side, closely watching him. He avoids her eyes, not wanting to alert her to anything.

“Wow...,” They hear Cait Sith breath out, fascinated, from behind them, “This place looks incredible…”

Cloud looks up and sees the crystallization and overall magnificence of the Northern Crater. He looks around more, wondering where Sephiroth could have gone, also noting the sudden rise of the temperature. He slows down, almost to a stop, trying to figure out how everything was freezing just a moment ago.

“What the hell, man? Why’s it so hot all of a sudden?” Barret says as he pulls his coat off, sighing in relief as he does.

“Could it be the Lifestream? Isn’t that warm?” Yuffie asks.

“Smells like smoke, too.” Red observes.

Cloud begins to breath a bit heavier, but attempts his best to even it out before speaking, “Sephiroth is near, so anything can happen…”

Cait Sith perks up a bit, “Oh! I just got an alert! Rufus and them are on their way!”

Barret rubs his chin, “Maybe some of us should stay here and keep watch…”

Cloud nods, “Yeah… probably would be best,” He hesitates, “Just in case…,” He says as he reaches into his rucksack, pulling the Black Materia out, “Hold on to this…”

Red looks at him nervously, but nods, taking the large, black orb and placing it in his own bag. With a look of acknowledgement, Cloud turns and begins walking towards the heart of the crater, followed by Tifa, Vincent, and Yuffie.

Barret, Cid, Red, and Cait decide to stay back, sitting down and waiting to hear any hint of an approaching helicopter.

***

Cloud walked ahead, seemingly forgetting that three other people were following him, only vaguely aware of Tifa constantly jogging to keep up with him. As they got closer to their destination, the temperature continued to rise, causing all of them to begin sweating. The smell of smoke began to fill the air, along with a haze. The environment began to distort, as if they were in a dream state. Cloud slowed down a bit.

“Cloud…,” Tifa says hesitantly to him and stands close to him, a look of horror etched on her face.

“Where is there a fire? I don’t see any smoke!” Yuffie yells nervously.

Vincent looks at Cloud and says nothing. Cloud isn’t sure if this is because he already knows what’s going on or he’s hoping that Cloud knows what’s going on. They’re suddenly engulfed in a greenish-white light, causing them all to gasp.

“What?!” Tifa exclaims, bringing her arms across her stomach and looking around, as if she wanted to curl in on herself.

“Tifa,” Cloud slowly approaches her, “It’s okay. Sephiroth is close by. Anything can happen… He’s doing this, I know it.”

Tifa gives Cloud an uncertain look. Their surroundings come back in to focus.

“Nibelheim?!” Tifa gasps.

“How…?” Vincent looks around.

“This is nuts! I want to go back, come on!” Yuffie yells and begins to turn but realizes the pathway away from the gates of Nibelheim are enveloped in mist.

Cloud looks at the group, “This is an illusion Sephiroth made up. He’s trying to confuse us and throw us off track. It’ll be alright. As long as we know it’s an illusion…,” Cloud hesitates, “…There’s nothing to be afraid of. Come on. Let’s find a way out of this.”

Tifa smiles weakly, “Yeah, you’re right…,” Her eyes suddenly widen as she looks past Cloud, “Look!”

Cloud looks behind him and sees Sephiroth and two Shinra Infantrymen walking up the path. He quickly draws his sword and holds it in front of him, ready to fight, but Sephiroth simply walks past him.

“He… can’t see us?” Yuffie asks. Vincent is standing a bit off to the side, seemingly deep in thought.

Tifa’s eyes widen as she stares at the path. Another person is approaching. A tall man wearing a SOLDIER uniform with black, spiky hair and vibrant, blue Mako. Yuffie and Vincent look at each other.

Yuffie turns to Tifa, “Hey, that’s—," Yuffie stops when she sees Tifa giving her a stern look and slightly shaking her head. Cloud seems unphased at seeing this man.

Sephiroth looks at one of the Infantrymen and Zack, “So… How does it feel? It’s been a while since you’ve been home.” The Infantryman scratches the back of his neck and doesn’t say much. The unknown SOLDIER flashes and encouraging smile over to him.

“Sephiroth… Please…,” Tifa begs quietly, averting Cloud’s gaze, “Please stop this.”

Cloud grits his teeth, “This is so stupid…”

Sephiroth lets out a deep laugh and disappears along with the other three men that he was with.

Vincent approaches Cloud, “We need to find a way to get back to the others. They could be in danger.”

“Them?! WE are in danger!” Yuffie yells, obviously panicked, looking around frantically for any hint of how to get back to the real world.

Tifa chances a look at Cloud who is beginning to show signs that he’s concerned. She slowly approaches him and places her hand on his right arm gently, “Cloud… It’s just an illusion, right?”

As she says this, they are once again engulphed in a bright white light. Cloud looks around, “What’s…. next?” He begins to choke on smoke.

They are in the middle of Nibelheim, surrounded by fire. The heat, the smell, the screams are all there. Yuffie gasps and runs over to an injured man lying on the ground, but has to jump away as part of a building crashes down nearby. Vincent is wide-eyed – something Cloud never thought he’d see – as he looks around at the destruction. In the distance, near the pathway to the Shinra Mansion, the sound of steel hitting flesh is apparent, followed by screams of anguish and people pleading for their lives. Tifa feels the sweat forming on her brow as she clutches Cloud’s arm tightly.

“Stop it already!!” Tifa screams, pleading for this to end, “Stop!!” Cloud brings his left hand over and places it tightly over her hands that are still clutching tightly to his arm, attempting to console her in some way.

Vincent steps towards the mansion, “All of this… While I was sleeping…”

Cloud looks around, “This is… what actually happened five years ago…” Cloud thinks back at his memories from that day. He expects that he should run out of the mansion next, “I should run out of the Shinra Mansion soon but… It probably won’t be me that comes out of there. He’s going to try and show us another _stupid_ illusion.” Cloud tightens his grip on Tifa’s hand.

As Cloud predicted, the black-haired SOLDIER runs out of the mansion and stops as he sees the fires burning. He runs towards the center of town where the four of them are standing. He drops his shoulders and shakes his head, “This is terrible! How could he?!”

Tifa begins to tremble and hides her face from the others. Yuffie begins to approach her but stops when she hears an unfamiliar voice.

“Hey! It’s you! You’re still sane, right?”

Tifa’s head snaps in the direction of the voice, “Master Zangan!” She pulls herself from Cloud’s arm and begins to run towards him.

“He can’t hear you,” Vincent says gently, and she stops, but does not move her gaze.

The SOLDIER runs over to him, “Yeah!”

Zangan nods, “I’ll check this house! You check the one over there!”

The SOLDIER runs over towards Cloud’s childhood home but is abruptly stopped when a large part of the home collapses. They watch as he slumps over and shakes his head again before walking over and kneeling down next to an Infantryman who is lying on the ground.

Tifa watches in horror as she watches the scene, slowly looking back to Cloud, who’s expression is getting more and more pained. She steps towards him a bit, “I don’t want to… watch this. Cloud, don’t watch…” Her voice trails off.

Cloud’s face becomes stern again, “What’s wrong, Tifa? I told you before, right? As long as we know that it’s just an illusion, there’s nothing to be afraid of. He’s done this to me before, on the way back to Sector 7… After the first mission I went on with Avalanche.”

Tifa looks at him, becoming more and more unsure of what was going on. Was this really an illusion? How could they feel the fire? The flames? Cloud has had this exact experience before?

“If you’ve had this happen before, then how do we get out of it?” Vincent asks him, somewhat sternly.

Cloud shakes his head and grits his teeth, “Sephiroth! I know you’re listening! I know what you want to say! That I wasn’t in Nibelheim five years ago,” Cloud hesitates, “That’s it, isn’t it?”

Sephiroth suddenly appears before them, smiling menacingly at them, “I see you finally understand.”

Cloud clenches his fists at his sides, “What you are trying to say is that you want to confuse me. That it?” Cloud shakes his head, “But… even making me see those things won’t affect me,” Cloud looks down for a moment. Tifa’s heart sinks seeing him begin to crack. She’s frozen in place, as if another force is holding her there.

Cloud looks back up at Sephiroth, “I remember it all! I remember the heat of the fire… The pain in my body…,” He looks over at Tifa, “And in my heart!” Tifa’s eyes widen at this.

Sephiroth lets out a deep laugh, “Oh, is that so?” He shakes his head as he continues to laugh, “You are just a puppet… You have no heart, Cloud. You can’t feel any pain. How can there be any meaning in the memory of such a being?”

Cloud’s eyes widen as he stares at Sephiroth, who’s lips curl across his face even more before he turns his attention to Yuffie and Vincent, “These two are no longer needed. Begone!”

Tifa gasps as Yuffie and Vincent suddenly disappear, “What did you do to them?!” Tifa asks, still frozen in place.

Sephiroth ignores her and looks back to Cloud, “What I have shown you is reality. What you remember… That is the illusion, Cloud.”

Tifa looks on in horror as Cloud’s words fail him, “Cloud…”

Sephiroth keeps his gaze locked on him, “…So, do you understand now?”

“I don’t want to understand!” Cloud snaps at him, “But, I want to ask you one thing. Why? Why are you doing this?”

Sephiroth disappears and immediately reappears standing slightly behind Tifa, giving Cloud a devilish look.

Cloud’s throat feels like it’s closing up, “No! Get away from her!”

Sephiroth laughs again, “Don’t worry, Cloud. I still need her… for now.”

Cloud is frozen in place, unable to move forward. He tries multiple times but realizes that Sephiroth is purposely holding him in place, as he was with Tifa. Sephiroth steps forward so he’s slightly in front of Tifa, “I want to take you back to your real self, Cloud. The one who gave me the Black Materia that day… Who would have ever though a _failed_ experiment would prove to be so useful? Hojo would die if he knew,” Sephiroth lets out another laugh.

“Hojo?! What does he have to do with me?!” Cloud’s eyes have widened further at the mention of Hojo’s name.

Sephiroth turns towards the mansion and back to Cloud, “Five years ago you were… Constructed by Hojo, piece by piece, right after Nibelheim was burnt. A puppet made up of vibrant Jenova cells, her knowledge and the power of Mako! An incomplete Sephiroth-clone. Not even given a number… a total failure. That is your reality, Cloud.”

Tifa shakes her head urgently, “Cloud, don’t listen to him! Cover your ears! Close your eyes! He’s lying!”

Cloud looks at her, his heart breaking at the look on her face and the tears appearing in the corners of her eyes, “Tifa…,” He attempts a small smile to her, attempting to calm her, “I’m not affected by it. Don’t worry, I wasn’t paying attention to anything he was saying.”

Tifa clenches her fists, “All that talk of Hojo constructing you is a lie! Don’t we have our memories together, Cloud? Being kids together… starlit nights…”

Sephiroth lets out a hearty laugh, “This is so amusing,” He looks to Tifa, “Why are you so worried and scared by those words, Tifa?”

Cloud looks at Tifa, who is avoiding his gaze, her attention focused on Sephiroth.

“Hmm…,” Sephiroth contemplates, “Shall I show him what’s in your heart?” Tifa turns completely away from Cloud as tears begin to freely fall. She holds her arms close to her and drops her head.

Sephiroth approaches her slowly, “Oh, no. Tifa?” He begins to laugh, “You don’t look so well.”

Cloud stares at Tifa, feeling the anxiety slam into him as his heart rate increases, “…Tifa? Is… Is Sephiroth right?”

“Cloud…,” She says weakly, but does not turn to him.

Cloud senses her fear, “Tifa, why are you so scared? Don’t worry about me. I’m all right,” He says as steadily as he can, “No matter how confused I am, I’ll never believe a word that Sephiroth says!”

He sees Tifa shift a bit before he continues, “It’s true that sometimes I can’t figure out who I am… There’s a lot of things muddled up in my memories… But… Tifa…”

Able to move again, Cloud slowly begins to approach her from behind, “You said, ‘Long time no see, Cloud,” right? Tifa, those words will always support me. I am the one you grew up with. I’m Cloud Strife of Nibelheim. No matter how much I lose faith in myself, that is the truth,” He hears a sob escape from Tifa as he gets closer, “That’s why you shouldn’t be scared, Tifa. No matter what anyone else says to me…,” He slowly brings his arms up and hugs her gently from behind, “It’s your attitude and your opinion that counts…”

Cloud feels Tifa tense up under him, “No…,” Tifa weakly forces out before moving out of his arms, “That’s not true, Cloud…”

Cloud’s arms drop to his side as he watches her move away from him. He feels a lump in his throat, “What’s not? I’m the same Cloud you grew up with… aren’t I?”

Tifa shakes her head, “That’s not what I mean… I don’t know how to say it, Cloud… I just need some time, okay? Just give me a little bit of time…”

Cloud begins to feel his world crumble around him. He slowly steps backwards, no moving his gaze from Tifa’s trembling form. Sephiroth appears next to him and places his hand on his shoulder, “Cloud, don’t blame Tifa. The ability to change one’s looks, voice, and words…,” He walks forward and turns towards Cloud, “That is the power of Jenova. Inside of you, Jenova has merged with Tifa’s memories, creating you. Out of Tifa’s memory… Perhaps a boy named Cloud may have been a part of them.”

Sephiroth suddenly disappears, leaving Tifa and Cloud in the middle of burning village. Cloud doesn’t know what to do. Why is Tifa saying these things? Is Sephiroth controlling her? None of this can be happening. What about the night they shared not even a day ago?

“Cloud… Don’t think right now,” She offers weakly as she slowly turns, “Please, don’t think right now…”

Cloud begins to walk towards her, but Sephiroth appears in front of him, blocking his path, “Think, Cloud! Think!” He thinks for a moment, “…Cloud? Ha! Oh, excuse me. You never had a name! No number, no name. Just a failed experiment that wasn’t disposed of quickly enough.”

Cloud drops his head, “Shut up… Sephiroth…”

_“You never could do anything right…”_

_“Always inadequate.”_

_“Of course you’d be a failed experiment… Can’t even do that right.”_

_“And you thought someday Tifa would want you. Laughable.”_

Cloud shakes his head, attempting to ignore the thoughts flowing through, seemingly all over.

_“Don’t listen to them. Just a little longer…”_

_“Don’t give him false hope. It’s pathetic.”_

“You still don’t understand?” Sephiroth stares at him, “Then…,” He approaches the body of a man on the ground, clutching a camera. He looks down at the man and smirks, turning his gaze to Tifa, “Do you remember the picture we took before we headed for Mt. Nibel?” Tifa avoids his stare, choosing to look at the ground, “…Tifa? You remember, right? But there is no way he would know…,” Sephiroth shoots a look at Cloud before turning his attention back to the dead photographer, “Now… what happened to that picture?” He leans down and lifts the camera off, revealing a photo sitting on the man’s chest.

He picks it up and carries it towards Tifa and Cloud, “…Is this it?” He holds it up to Tifa, who refuses to look at it, “Tifa, you don’t want to see it? It turned out pretty good,” Tifa shakes her head and Sephiroth turns to Cloud, “How about you?”

“Cloud… don’t…,” Tifa chokes out.

“I… should be in the picture. Even if I’m not, don’t worry. This is just an illusionary world that Sephiroth made up,” Sephiroth smirks and hands Cloud the picture. Cloud flips the photo over, revealing the black-haired SOLDIER, Tifa, and Sephiroth. Cloud scoffs, “Just as I thought. This picture is a fake. The truth is in my memory!”

Tifa looks at Cloud hesitantly as he continues, “Five years ago, I came back to Nibelheim, to inspect the reactor. There was an increase in monster activity and they suspected that it had to do with the reactor. I was sixteen. The town hadn’t changed at all,” Cloud approaches Tifa slowly, “What did I do? Oh yeah… I saw my mom!”

_“Please! Spare my son, please! Cloud! Run!”_

“I saw the people in town!”

_“No! Stop it! Why are you doing this?! Help! Father! Mother! Why?!”_

“I went into your room and played the piano…”

_“Do you remember the first time you heard her play?”_

“…I read the letter on your desk.”

_“Too much of a coward to make a move, so somebody else did.”_

“I spent the night and went to the reactor on Mt Nibel. I was excited about it because it was my first mission after becoming First Class in SOLDIER!”

_“SOLDIER?”_

Cloud feels a pain shoot through his head and his vision whites out for a moment, “…..SOLDIER? ….First Class?” Tifa’s eyes widen as she sees Cloud begin to fight with himself, “…SOLDIER? When did I enter SOLDIER? How did I join SOLDIER? Why…,” Cloud grabs his head, “Why can’t I remember?! I’m… I’m…,” Cloud takes his hands down and seems to calm a bit, “That’s right… I didn’t have to worry about it because I was…”

They’re suddenly enveloped in white again.

“Cloud?” Tifa asks tentatively.

“Let’s go, Tifa… I’m… I’m okay…”

***

Yuffie winces as she opens her eyes, feeling cold again, and lacking the proper equipment. She immediately began to shiver and curled up. As her vision focused, she realizes she was in the middle of some type of twister. Black, cloaked figures flew around her. She jumped up and prepared for combat.

“Where am I!?” She yells and spins around, seeing only the ghostly figures flying around her. She turns around and sees her father standing before her, looking stern.

“Dad?” She asks hesitantly.

“Yuffie… Why are you such a disappointment? You’ve brought nothing but dishonor and shame to our family!” Godo yells.

“What?!”

He lets out a low rumble of a laugh, “I thought you’d have grown out of it by now, but you’ve only gotten worse. You deserve nothing. Do not come back here, Yuffie. You’re a traitor helping out Shinra!”

“I’m not helping them!” Yuffie grits her teeth, “Dad! I told you I was going to get the Materia from them, right?! Do you remember?”

Godo scoffs, “You only want that Materia for yourself. You don’t care about Wutai! You never have!”

“That’s not true!” Yuffie pleads, “Why are you—?”

Everything begins to fade.

***

Vincent observes the wall of ghostly figures curiously. He pulls his pistol out and shoots at them a few times, causing only a slight ripple in their constant, flowing movements.

“Vincent…”

Vincent freezes, knowing that voice all too well. A voice so sweet, and one he hadn’t heard in well over twenty years. He turns and sees her standing there, hands clasped in front of her, looking stern, “Lucrecia!”

“You let it happen. It’s your fault that Nibelheim burned down. Did you see?”

Vincent’s brow furrows, “Lucrecia… I’m sorry.”

“No,” She turns from him, “Do you feel that you’ve actually repented for your sins, Vincent?”

“No…,” Vincent stares on, “I’ll never…”

As he tries to gather his thoughts, the scene before him shifts.

***

Cid begins to shiver, “Guess the imaginary fire went away.”

Barret stands and looks around, “Weird…”

“The wind has stopped as well…,” Red trails off and suddenly looks towards the sky, “Do you hear that?”

The others look to Red and hear the sound of an engine in the distance. Cait Sith looks to them, “It should be Rufus and them by now…”

Barret scoffs, “Great. Hopefully Cloud gets back soon so we can bust pretty boy’s ass up a bit.”

Red shakes his head, “I’m sure the last thing on Cloud’s mind is fighting Rufus.”

Before they can see Shinra’s transport appear, a green haze surrounds them.

“What the hell?!” Barret jumps back.

The four of them stand in a circle, backs facing each other waiting for whatever is going to appear before them.

***

Barret notices the stillness and silence creep over him. He turns and realizes he’s alone.

“Hey!” He circles around, “Red?! Cid?! Cait?! Where’d you guys go?!”

He realizes he’s surrounded by whispers, “You guys?!”

On the other side of the void he’s in, he sees a woman standing there with her back to him. He freezes, “…Myrna?”

“You just had to tell Shinra to build that reactor… Just to make life easier, right?” The woman says coldly.

“Myrna… I…” Barret’s throat feels like it’s closing up, “I’m so sorry.”

“I guess it doesn’t matter now, huh?”

Barret’s head snaps in the direction of another woman’s voice. Eleanor, Dyne’s wife, stands sternly looking at him, “You let me die and then you killed my husband… I can’t believe I left Marlene to a person like _you._ A terrible, selfish excuse of a person. Maybe Dyne was right… Maybe you should have let Marlene die too… At least she’d be with her family. Her _real_ family.”

Barret can’t speak. He feels the sweat building on his brow. His heart is pounding in his chest and the lump in his throat is growing.

“You just wouldn’t listen…”

This time, Dyne appears before him, surrounded by other deceased villagers from Corel, “All of these people who died… The blood is on your hands, _old friend._ ”

“He let us die too!”

Barret sees Wedge and Jessie appear.

“He’s fine, but we’re all dead…,” Jessie crosses her arms, “How does it feel?”

Barret feels the stares of all those surrounding him. People appear from Sector 1, Sector 8, Sector 7, and Sector 5. All victims of Avalanche’s activities. Barret grasps his head with his left hand, eyes wide, as he tries to figure out what to do. Is this real? What is happening?

He doesn’t even have a chance to realize that Biggs doesn’t show up before the visions begin to fade.

***

Cid faces an apparent shadow of himself. His spear in front of him, ready to go if this doppelganger comes at him.

“You live such a miserable existence…,” The doppelganger says, “You’ve made no impact on anyone’s life. You’ve beaten and abused people who care for you. You’ve drank yourself to nothing but a shell of a man.”

“Who the fuck are you to say that shit?” Cid scoffs, “This ain’t real. How the hell could I be talking to _myself_?”

The doppelganger, who clearly speaks with much more eloquence than Cid does, laughs at him and disappears.

***

Red looks around, surrounded by Whispers. He thinks for a moment before approaching them.

“Hmm… They’ve created a wall around me…” Red sighs a bit, “Perhaps it’s temporary…”

“Red, you’re here! I’m so glad!”

Red turns towards the voice. He sees Tifa running towards him, “Tifa! You’re okay?! Something is strange… Why was it dark all of a sudden? Where is everybody?”

Tifa shakes her head, slightly out of breath, “They’re all waiting, but Cloud is in trouble, Nanaki!”

“I’m not sure I understand, but I’ll go if you need me to!” He says enthusiastically. Red doesn’t seem to pick up on the sudden change in how Tifa addresses him.

“Please! We must hurry!”

“Okay!” Red feels excited. He’s able to help.

The Whispers disappear, exposing the way towards the heart of the crater where Cloud should be with the others. He runs forward, leaving Tifa behind him. As Tifa watches him walk up the path, a smirk appears on her face, just as she turns into Sephiroth.

“Oh… and don’t forget the Black Materia…”

***

Rufus exits _The Highwind,_ looking around at the large forms in the center of the crater. He drinks in the mysterious beauty surrounding him and is hit with the chill in the air. Tseng stand beside him as they hear Scarlet also walk up behind them.

“Oh, it’s _dreadfully_ cold here,” Scarlet groans, “This is _so_ drying for my skin.”

Rufus ignores Scarlet’s complaining and turns his attention Hojo exiting the airship, followed by Reno and Rude. Hojo looks around, seemingly in awe of the crystallized forms surrounding them. Reno jabs him in the back to keep him moving and Hojo shoots him a disgusted look while mumbling something under his breath.

“Hmph,” Rufus looks around, “No one is here…”

Hojo rubs his chin, “Perhaps they are still heading here…”

Reno sucks his teeth, “Yeah, okay. Guess they’re running late? They have a schedule? Were they busy?”

“The likes of _you_ wouldn’t understand,” Hojo scowls at Reno.

As Reno opens his mouth to say something, they’re all jolted when Cloud appears in front of them, slumped forward, along with two other individuals.

“What is this?” Scarlet asks and walks to stand next to Tseng and Rufus.

***

Barret opens his eyes and takes a deep breath, seeing nothing but swirling snow above him. He sits up quickly, shaking his head at the sudden rush he feels. He sees Cid sitting nearby, apparently also just awakening from whatever had happened to them, and Cait Sith, seemingly coming back to life as well. Barret slowly stands and realizes Red is nowhere to be found.

“Fuckin’ Shiva…,” Cid groans as he stands, pulls out a cigarette, and lights it, “What the hell was that?”

“I dunno, man…,” Barret shakes his head, “Some kinda dream or somethin’…”

Cait Sith looks at them, “I lost connection completely… I have no idea what that was. Some type of very powerful interference.”

“Yeah, well…,” Barret looks around again, “We gotta find Red. He’s not here.”

Cid looks around and nods, “Shit… Hope he’s okay…”

“Let’s head up the trail,” Barret starts walking, “I’m assuming those Shinra jackasses are already up there.”

***

Tifa sees Rufus, the Turks, and a woman standing across the way, just past a slumped over Cloud. She attempts to walk to him but can only run in place.

_“Cloud! Yuffie! Vincent!”_

Can they hear her? She notices Yuffie frantically looking around, which catches the attention of Vincent, who seems to keep his eyes on the Turks while helping her.

“Tifa?!” She hears Yuffie cry, “Tifa, where are you?!”

_“Yuffie!” Tifa cries back to her, but Yuffie doesn’t acknowledge her, “They really… can’t hear me…”_

“Yuffie,” Vincent says sternly, “You need to stay calm. We have multiple threats right now.”

“Oh, _SCREW_ it!” Yuffie yells, “I don’t want to lose another friend, Vincent!” Vincent closes his eyes and looks away from her, not knowing what to say.

Rufus looks on at the two for a moment before focusing his attention back on Cloud. Hojo steps forward and dips down, attempting to catch Cloud’s gaze.

“Hmph,” Hojo stands up straight and circles Cloud, “I thought…”

Scarlet looks over at Rufus, “Mr. President… I have a very bad feeling about this place…”

Rufus looks at her for a moment before humming a response, “Maybe we should head back to the ship. We should prepare for the inspection anyway…”

Cloud suddenly looks up at Rufus and Scarlet, “This place is going to get rough. Better leave things to me and get out of her while you still can!!”

Rufus smirks, “Leave things to you? Hmph… I don’t know what you mean.”

“This is where the Reunion is happening. Where everything begins… and ends,” Cloud stares at them blankly.

“Cloud!”

Everyone turns to see Red running up the trail. He hesitates for a moment when he sees Hojo but runs past him. Cloud immediately snaps his head up and stares at Red.

“Cloud, Tifa said you were in trouble!” Red says, out of breath, “I’m here to help!”

_Tifa looks on in horror as she sees herself walk up behind Red, “Cloud! No!”_

“Such a shame…,” Tifa turns quickly to see Sephiroth standing behind her, “Just a little longer now…,” He looks up to the sky, “Just a few moments longer…”

Tifa rushes him, but he disappears. She turns her attention back to the scene in an apparent different dimension than the one she finds herself in. Her doppelganger approaches Cloud and smiles sweetly at him. Cloud gives a somewhat blank stare back to both the false Tifa and Red.

“Thank you, Red,” Cloud walks towards him and stumbles, beginning to claw at his head and rub his face. Regaining a bit of his composure, he continues walking towards Red, “Where is the Black Materia?”

_“Cloud, please! Hear my words!” Tifa cries._

Red gives Cloud a somewhat baffled look, “Are you all right, Cloud?”

Cloud gives Red a confident nod.

Red looks at him for a few moments longer before nuzzling into his rucksack and pulling out the Black Materia, “Then… here you go, Cloud. I was a little apprehensive holding on to it anyway.”

_“No!! Don’t!! Please! Please stop, Cloud! Don’t do this!” Tifa feels as if everything is beginning to crumble around her._

Yuffie gasps, “Tifa!”

Tifa looks over at her and notices Vincent perk up as well, “You guys can hear me?!”

Yuffie tilts her head a bit, “Of course we can! What are you talking about?”

Tifa shakes her head, “I’ll explain later. Yuffie, Vincent – we need to get Cloud out of here. We can’t let him give the Black Materia to Sephiroth!”

Tifa turns just as Cloud takes the Black Materia from Red and rolls it in his hand a few times, “Thanks. Leave the rest to me.”

Cloud turns back towards the other. Rufus, Hojo, Scarlet, and the Turks look on silently. Tifa begins to approach Cloud when he hears the voices again.

_“Come on, Cloud… The Black Materia… Hurry! I’m waiting…”_

Cloud shakes his head and stops, grasping his head as a different voice – a childlike voice - calls to him.

_“Please wait! Just a little longer! Don’t do this!”_

Cloud shakes his head once more and then straightens up, looking at the others. Barret, Cid, and Cait Sith finally make it up the trail just in time to see this.

“Everyone, thank you for everything… and… I’m sorry…,” Cloud looks to Red, Barret, Cid, and Cait Sith, “Sorry…,” He turns to Vincent and Yuffie, “Sorry…”

Cloud slowly turns and locks eyes with Tifa. Tifa freezes. Cloud’s face has softened a bit as he looks at her, and his voice is even more gentle, “Especially you, Tifa… I’m really sorry. You’ve been so good to me… I don’t know what to say…,” His voice cracks a bit, but he doesn’t break his gaze, “I never lived up to being Cloud… To being the person you deserved.”

Tifa’s eyes widen as he continues, her heart in her throat. Barret looks to her from behind Cloud, his face etched with concern.

“Tifa…,” Cloud’s expression grows solemn, “Maybe one day, you’ll meet the real Cloud.”

Tifa can’t hold it in anymore and breaks. Tears being to stream down her face as she falls to her knees and claws at the cold, hard ground. She’s crying so hard that no sound is coming out. Cloud closes his eyes and feels pain surge through his heart at the sight, knowing there’s nothing that can be done now.

Hojo begins to laugh maniacally from Cloud’s left, “This is perfect!!! It means that my experiment was a complete success! What number were you, son? Huh? Where is your tattoo?”

Cloud looks sadly over at Hojo, “Professor Hojo, I don’t have a number. You didn’t give me one because you said I was a failed experiment.”

Hojo scowls at Cloud, “What the--? You mean only a _failure_ made it here?”

Cloud walks to Hojo and gets on his knees, grabbing at his lab coat, “Professor, please… Please give me a number. Please, Professor!” Tifa looks on, her heart breaking even further at the sight.

Hojo kicks Cloud away from him, “Shut up you miserable failure.”

Barret begins to march towards Hojo when Cloud suddenly begins to float in front of him. Everyone gasps as he disappears into the crystalized structures above them. Tifa looks up and stares in the direction that he disappeared to, catching a glimpse of him sitting upside down above them.

Rufus steps forward, confused at what he just witnessed, “Who… was that? I thought I…”

“…He’s a Sephiroth clone I created after the real Sephiroth died five years ago. Jenova cells and Mako, with my knowledge and skills, have been combined with scient and nature to bring him to life,” Hojo says passionately. He begins to pace, hands clasped behind his back, “You see… Even if Jenova’s body is dismembered, it will eventually become one again. That’s what is meant by Jenova’s _REUNION_.”

Scarlet makes a noise of disgust before turning and heading back towards _The Highwind._ Rufus looks on as Hojo continues, “I have been waiting for the Reunion to start. Five years have passed, and now the Remnants have begun to return! I thought they would begin to gather in Midgar where Jenova had been stored, but my predictions were not entirely correct. Jenova herself was moving away from the Shinra building, and the Remanants that did appear in Midgar only came to retrieve her, to bring her here,” He laughs a bit to himself, “They are quite obedient.”

Reno sighs heavily and looks at Rude, they follow Scarlet back to the ship, bored of this ridiculous Hojo monologue, “But being the _genius_ that I am, I soon figured it out. You see… it was all Sephiroth’s doing. Sephiroth is not just content to diffuse his will into the Lifestream. He wants to manipulate the Remnants himself.”

Cloud listens in on the speech that Hojo is giving and his thoughts take over.

_“Yes, that was how it got started.”_

Hojo continues, “I wondered where the clones were going, but I was never able to quite figure it out.”

_“I couldn’t figure it out either…”_

“The one thing that I did know was that Sephiroth was their final destination.”

_“I wasn’t pursuing Sephiroth… I was being summoned by Sephiroth. All the anger and hatred I bore him, made it impossible for me to ever forget him… That and what he gave me…”_

Cloud stands.

_“I really am a failure. A useless, hollow shell of a man… Sephiroth? Sephiroth? I’m here. I brought you the Black Materia. Show yourself to me. Where are you?”_

Everyone is startled when a rumbling and cracking are heard above them. Rocks begin to fall and a large crystal falls from the top of the crater. Encased inside is Sephiroth’s body, heavily damaged in the middle – most likely due to a massive stab wound.

Cloud looks at him with a blank expression.

_“Sephiroth… so we finally meet again…”_

Hojo cackles maniacally, “Did you see it?! It’s Sephiroth! So he _is_ here!! This is perfect! Both Jevova’s Reunion and Sephiroth’s Will! They won’t be diffused into the Lifestream, but rather they will gather here!” He cackles more.

Tifa stands and approaches him, her fists clenched, “What are you so happy about?!” She demands towards him and he slows his cackles and he looks back at her with a smirk, “You know what this means, don’t you? Cloud has the Black Materia! Sephiroth is going to summon Meteor. Everyone -- _Everyone –_ is going to die!”

Rufus looks up as Cloud begins slowly walking towards Sephiroth’s crystalized grave, “Whatever I say now is too little, too late. We must evacuate quickly. I want you all to come with me. There’s much more I want to know…”

Barret begins to protest but Red cuts him off, “Cloud, NO! STOP! PLEASE!”

Tifa stares up in horror as she sees Cloud roll the Black Materia in his hands a few times, “CLOUD!!!!”

Cloud hands the Black Materia to Sephiroth and it begins to glow a vibrant, deep purple. Tifa falls to her knees once more as she watches Cloud cast aside like a ragdoll after pulling his hand away. The crater begins to rumble. Vincent notices a large eye looking at him through the crystal walls and looks at Yuffie, “Go!”

Tifa stares in disbelief as the walls begin to crack around her. She sees Cloud stand up and look down at her, his expression full of fear and disbelief. He was completely broken. She feels tears begin to fall as more of the structures around them crumble. All sound is muffled. Her limbs are numb.

Suddenly, she’s lifted off the ground by Vincent, “No! We can’t leave him here! I’m not leaving him again!”

“Tifa, you will die if you stay here!” Vincent says to her, “Do you think Cloud would want that?”

Tifa sobs, “It doesn’t matter! He’s going to die, Vincent!”

Vincent ignores Tifa’s cries. She’s slung over his shoulder and looks back as Vincent swiftly runs. She can’t help but stare as the top part of the crystalized structures crumble. She catches a glimpse of Cloud as he falls with it, one final glance of the fear and sorrow on his face. She reaches for him. Everything is in slow motion as he falls, slightly raising his arm to reach back at her.

Vincent get Tifa onto the airship just as the hatches close. They hear the panic throughout the ship.

“We need to takeoff NOW!” They hear Heidegger scream at a few of the engineers as he slaps another around.

“Sir, we are closing the hatch now!” One engineer yells.

Vincent puts Tifa down and she runs off, towards the front of the airship. Rufus is already standing there, but she pays him no mind. The entire crater seems to be collapsing in on itself. She clenches her jaw and fists as the tears begin to roll down. Yuffie begins to walk towards her, but they are interrupted when there is a large amount of turbulence.

“We have large objects appearing on radar, sir! Of unknown origin!”

Heidegger looks at them, “Where?!”

“Right below us!”

“Shit!”

“What are we going to do?!”

“We need to get the hell out of here!!!”

Cid looks on in disgust at the complete disarray and lack of organization Heidegger has at commanding this ship. _His_ baby. Cid is almost knocked off of his feet as another shock hits the airship. He looks out as they hear a large sound coming from the crater. They look on in awe as an extremely large being flies out of the crater. This causes a massive shockwave to go through the air.

Alarms are going off around them as the airship struggles to handle it, “Brace yourselves, now!” Cid demands, “This ain’t gonna get better!”

Tifa stares in disbelief as Rufus goes to sit in one of the seats nearby and buckle himself in. He motions for Tifa to come as well, but she ignores him. Barret begins to walk towards her when two more large weapons fly out of the crater, causing such a shockwave that it knocks all of them off of their feet. Barret rolls a good ten feet away from Tifa, and he’s helpless as he watches her slam her head into one of the railings nearby.

“Tifa!!”

Tifa slams her head again and is completely overwhelmed with the pain. Slowly, everything becomes quiet and dark. She feels at peace. She can hear faint voices around her, but they grow more distant. The darkness surrounds her. It feels familiar.

“Am I… dreaming?” She says aloud to herself. She looks around, seemingly completely in the darkness, but sees a glint of something. It’s Cloud… He materializes in front of her, sitting curled in on himself.

“Cloud!”

Cloud stands and picks up his sword. He begins to walk away.

“Wait! Cloud!”

He continues walking away until she can no longer see him.

“No! Stop! Why?!”

Just like the dream.

Tifa beings to go in and out of consciousness. She hears Barret screaming at them to do something. Yuffie is sitting next to her putting pressure on a spot on her head.

“She’s losing a lot of blood,” She hears someone say.

“We need to get her to Junon,” another says.

Tifa finally completely loses consciousness, with one, final thought weighing on her mind before, once again, being enveloped in darkness:

She was deeply in love with Cloud Strife and now may never see him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this. I kept it mostly the same since I really love the original scene, but added a bit more angst and pulled in the other characters as well, allowing Sephiroth to begin to just mess with everyone around Cloud. 
> 
> The next chapter will consist mostly of Tifa's thoughts and the Midgar flashback. I want to build on that - I think a lot happened at that time, so I'm going to write my headcanon on that whole thing.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Any feedback is appreciated. I had a good time writing this and look forward to writing the rest of it. Rating may eventually change if I decide to go to horny jail... Depends how I feel when I write the Highwind and Chill chapter and post-game content.  
> 


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